


Troublesome Timing

by FrznLights



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, I Don't Even Know, POV Multiple, Reincarnation, Time Travel, What Was I Thinking?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-27
Updated: 2014-07-06
Packaged: 2018-01-02 18:49:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 103,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1060292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrznLights/pseuds/FrznLights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shikamaru didn't know if it was time travel or reincarnation. But between memories of the future and having Itachi and Sasuke as brothers, he knew his dreams of a simple life would be impossible. </p><p>(Or: The best idea I had for motivating Shikamaru to interact with Itachi)<br/>(From FFnet)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Clarion Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shika's reborn as 'Kazuki Uchiha', so it takes him time to understand his past as Shika (because I don't believe that babies have the physical capacity to comprehend very much).
> 
> I have no intended pairings. The story’s based on the manga with occasional elements from the anime; it ignores events of the filler arc following episode 357 since this story was started before then.

**Age 0** . Itachi sat on the porch steps, a large baby carrier in his lap. He stared down at the two babies bundled tightly next to one another in multiple layers of blankets and remembered the first time he had seen them.

Nobody had expected twins. It had been his father's turn to choose a name, and so the first twin had been named "Sasuke", but there hadn't been a name prepared for the second. He had been a little surprised that his parents had both asked if he had any suggestions.

He leant in closer to the baby carrier. Sasuke, on the left, had started to scrunch up his nose and fuss. The baby on the right remained still, face turned slightly away from his twin, half buried in the blankets. He had been quiet the whole night.

 _Kazuki – peaceful hope_.

Itachi reached down to fold a corner of the blankets over Kazuki's exposed ear. A sudden sense of unease struck him and Sasuke started to wail louder. He hugged the baby carrier tighter to his chest and glanced at the night sky – a sea of black with interspersed specks of light. He wasn't sure what had spawned his sudden sense of anxiety.

Lightly bouncing the carriage, he ducked his head and whispered solemnly, "Don't worry, I'll protect you two. No matter what."

Sasuke continued to fuss, but for the first time that night, Kazuki stirred. His eyes peered open a split second before an inhuman roar split the evening's ambience.

*

 **Age 2**. Itachi grinned helplessly at the sight of Sasuke, standing eagerly before him, almost vibrating with excitement.

"Nii-san! I brough' Kazu! Canwegonoooow?" Sasuke finished expectantly. He was standing on the very tips of his toes, hands behind his back.

Feigning ignorance, Itachi crouched down so that he was at eye-level with Sasuke. "Where is Kazuki?"

"Here!" With that, Sasuke promptly shoved a fistful of blankets that he had been clutching at Itachi's face. Peeking over, Itachi could see that the blankets had been used to drag around Kazuki, who lay curled up inside the pile, apparently dead to the world.

" _Now_ can we go?" Sasuke huffed impatiently.

Before Itachi could reply, their mother interrupted, "Sasuke! Your brother has lots of homework! You can play when he's done!"

Itachi smiled gently at Sasuke's dejected expression before leaning back on his heels to say, "I can do my homework later. The assignment's simple!" He laughed when he heard Kazuki's muffled grumble under Sasuke's delighted shriek.

*

 **Age 3.**  Sasuke's level of energy was unnatural Kazuki decided. He watched his brother bound past the front door for the thirtieth time that night, eyes wide in a horrid attempt at nonchalance. With a sigh, he lifted his cheek from the table so that he could peer down at the homework their dad had assigned.

The problems didn't look difficult. He glanced at the page that Sasuke had abandoned on the table prior to his "bathroom break". With the exception of two, every blank space had been filled. He returned to his own sheet, which was still utterly blank.

He gazed at the pencil, which lay less than two centimeters from the page.

He returned his gaze to his paper and frowned.

Sighing again, he crossed his arms before him as a cushion for his head, and dropped his head.  _Too much effort._

That night, he was sent straight to his room without dinner.  _Did you even try? How do you expect to be an Uchiha when you can't even complete a simple worksheet?_

He had meant to write enough to satisfy his father, but his father had burst in right as Sasuke went to take his thirty-second pass to the front door. The second he confirmed his twins had answered his summons, he bowled straight for Mikoto and pushed her into the kitchen. Kazuki managed to catch the words "Hyuuga", "kidnapped", "Kumo", and "treaty", before Sasuke drowned the rest out by shouting that Itachi was back from his escort mission. Hearing that, Fugaku had appeared in the doorway, noticed his blank worksheet, and started shouting.

From the tensed shoulders and the sudden loss of temper, Kazuki had guessed that his dad was simply worried about the Hyuuga kidnapping. Something that he was a little more rattled by than his father's lectures, which he had already long been immune.  _The Hyuuga kidnapping - the incident where Neji lost his dad and grew a stick up his ass._ He felt denial creeping in, as it had for all the previous deja-vu moments in his life. But this time it was different. The suspicion that had always lingered at the back of his mind for as long as he could remember had finally coalesced.

He took a shaky breath as he stared up at the ceiling from where he lay on his bed. Because if Hinata was really kidnapped, then that would mean that his dreams were most likely not just dreams; because unlike the other events, the chances of this happening by chance were not very high.

He clenched his fists _._ And if his dreams were true, then was this time-travel or reincarnation or _what?_ (And just who did he screw over in his past life?) Because he had been Nara Shikamaru and not Uchiha Kazuki and yet so much of _everything_ seemed familiar, and if his fragmented… memories (if that was what they were) were true, then this meant that –

 _Knock Knock_.

He raised his head and shifted his weight up onto his elbows just as Itachi poked his head in, "Are you alright? Father was being harsh, but he means well."

"Aaa."

_\- that Itachi was going to massacre the Uchiha clan before he graduated from the Academy, –_

"You look a bit pale. Are you sure?"

Kazuki returned a tired grin, "Un, I didn't sleep well last night."

Itachi laughed, "You're always sleeping. Here, I snuck some onigiri up for you. Hide it from father." Kazuki sat up as Itachi strode in to place a small wrapped knapsack on Kazuki's side table. Itachi then reached out and ruffled Kazuki's hair, "Sleep well tonight!" He turned to leave.

-  _that_   ** _his brother_** _was going to kill his whole family except for Sasuke, -_

"Itachi?"

His brother paused at the door.

He gave a faint smile, "Okaeri… I'm glad you're back."

-  _and that he really wished he had made more of an effort learning the specific dates in Konoha's history._

With a soft thump, Itachi slid the door shut leaving Kazuki to stare miserably at the ceiling and reorganize his thoughts.

He had already tried to dispel any genjutsus that he could have been under as soon as he reached his room. He didn't really believe it was a genjutsu though. He had at least a year's worth of memories as Kazuki; he couldn't remember how or if he had died, but if he had been in a fight, no one would have had the time to put him under a genjutsu for a year – unless time dilation was involved. From what he remembered, only the Itachi had that sort of skill and inclination to use that skill. Additionally, if it was information, there were far more efficient ways of gathering information.

That meant that one. he was crazy (in which case, he was already screwed); two. some of his dreams just happened to coincide with reality; or three. he had limited "precognition" because of some …displacement in the universe through time travel, reincarnation, or something else. There was no point in considering option one, and option two…

Slowly, he formed the rat seal and watched a shadowy tendril dance out from beneath him. Slightly out of breath, he let his hands drop limply beside him,  _well, that left assumption three._ He let out a sigh _…how is this my life?!_

*

Bright lights, an explosive force, and painpainpainPAINPAIIIN. Fingers broken, spread-eagled, skin melting, bloody grins and somuchdesperation _ASUMA-SENSEI!_ Horror _, the village. …_ Disbelief and determined denial. Scattered shogi pieces, fallen cigarettes, tear stains and anguished cries, and still the desperation  _notfear_  just grows with the screams and paranoia and  _breathe, just breatheandCALMDOWN-!_

Kazuki sat up with a choked sob, hastily stifled. Trembling, he muffled a groan as the pain in his head focused in his eyes grew. Driving the heels of his hands against his eyes, he struggled to regain his breath. Even as a part of him wanted to deny the conclusions he’d reached – to continue as he was, another part was cold with the certainty.

He needed a plan to move forward. Above all else, he needed a plan to address a potential massacre.

He wrapped his still-quivering hands together and pressed them against his mouth in an attempt to drive out the chill that had settled in his extremities. A part of him was reluctant to recall his dreams, which had rushed forth in a deluge after the day's realizations. The other part was attempting to face the daunting challenge of planning for at least the next two decades.

But these thoughts themselves were alarming, because they were just another reminder that he couldn’t deny that these dreams were only dreams. Because, at his age, he shouldn't have such capabilities of forethought – and that knowledge, that level of self-awareness, was disturbing by itself.

 _Had Itachi been that self-aware?_  His arms were still shaking. Something was wrong. Actually, the exhaustion that he had thought was a remnant of his dream seemed much too apparent now. Distantly, he was aware that he’d dropped back into his blankets.

*

Itachi paused outside and looked down the hallway to the bedrooms of the twins. There it was – another hitched breath.  _A nightmare?_  He took a step forward into the hallway when he sensed Fugaku's chakra flare impatiently. He frowned,  _maybe it was nothing_. He pivoted; he’d have to check on the two in the morning, before he met Shisui.

*

Itachi stopped at the courtyard on his way out. He could see his father's eyelid spasm as he oversaw the twins' morning cool down meditation. On the surface, both boys were sitting perfectly still, but then Sasuke would twitch and shift his weight. His hands were curled in the fabric of his trousers, fingers picking at the loose threads. Now and then, he would peek an eye open only to see Fugaku's stern gaze and hurriedly snap his eyes shut and scrunch his face up in determined concentration.

It was really adorable how hard he tried. Itachi switched his attention to the other boy and smirked _._ In sharp contrast, Kazuki was in a relaxed slouch, breathing deeply and calmly – _undoubtedly, fast asleep_.

 Father still complained that he had named the other twin too well.

"I'm leaving."

Fugaku's measured 'Please return safely' was echoed by Sasuke and met with silence by Kazuki.

As Itachi walked towards the compound's entrance, he heard Kazuki's yelp, "Oww!"

"Stop drowsing!"

*

Shisui's landing was masked by the wind rushing through the leaves. The rustling whispers were loud enough to remind Itachi of the waves in Kiri.

Shisui greeted him with a frown, "Have you been sleeping? If you keep this up, those lines under your eyes will become permanent."

Itachi gave Shisui a faint wry grin, "It's good to see you too."

Shisui's grin twisted as he sat on the branch and gazed over the treetops, "…It seems like your worries weren't for nothing."

Itachi watched Shisui carefully, "So you see it too?"

Shisui sighed, "I never said I didn't. Did you know, before the Fourth died, there had been talks of raising the age restriction for graduating the Academy?" When Itachi said nothing, Shisui continued, "He was worried the village was pushing its children too fast, too early."

"Children like me…" 

Shisui nodded and tapped his fingers against the bark.  _Yes_. "But then he died and with the devastation that the Kyuubi caused, the village needed visibility – needed to show its strength."

"Do we still? I assume that's why they keep sending me out on escort missions."

Shisui nodded again, "It's been two years since, but the village has had a lot to rebuild. We've shown our strength – now we need to  _use_  it." Shisui rested his chin in his hand, half obscuring his mouth.

Itachi stared at Shisui for a moment, nonplussed.  _A mask?_   _Kakashi's in ANBU? What does Kakashi joining ANBU matter? Is our clan upset that Obito's eye might be at risk?_

"The problem is, no one wants to forgive and everyone wants to suspect." Shisui glanced at their clan symbol. "I suspect, everyone will want you."

Itachi blinked, "To suspect me or to want me?" Much as he missed the comfort of talking to someone who could understand and empathize with him, he could do without Shisui's cryptic communications.

*

The images were clearer this time; the pain, sharper.  _Protect the king_. The smoke stung his eyes. Monstrous chakra –  _take care of your mother._  Oyaji*  _…_  Was it the pain of tears? Dawning despair and settling resolve.  _Why was he here?_

Half-awake now from the pain in his eyes, words came to him unbidden.  _Running away like this, living a life where I don't see through things… I don't want to live a complicated life like that either_.

He cried silently, disoriented, in pain and unable to move from exhaustion. Dimly, he was aware someone had entered his room.

*

Itachi kept his eyes closed as he sensed a presence hovering outside his door, "Sasuke?"

He heard the door slide open followed by a quiet shuffle of steps. He rolled over and opened his eyes to see Sasuke peering up at him through his bangs, "Kazuki's having a nightmare."

Itachi flipped aside his covers and stepped into his slippers. Standing up he felt Sasuke's hand automatically slide into his own. Sasuke was too proud to find him if it wasn't a problem."Is Kazuki ok?"

As if that was a switch, Sasuke lost his hesitancy and began pulling Itachi down the hall. He answered in a rushed whisper, "His mumbling woke me, so I went into his room - but I couldn't wake him!"

Kazuki's door was already open when they arrived. Taking one look at the bed, Itachi interrupted Sasuke's run forward by grabbing the back of his shirt and swinging him around to face the door, "Wake up mother and father. Tell them I'm at the hospital with Kazuki."

As he began to gather Kazuki, blankets and all, he saw that Sasuke hadn't moved and was staring at him with large distressed eyes. He smiled reassuringly, "Go. It'll be alright."

Sasuke bit his lip, nodded, and ran off.

Barefoot, Itachi picked up Kazuki and leapt out the window.  _Why were his chakra levels so low? How had no one noticed?_

"Oyaji…" Itachi tightened his grip at Kazuki's mumbled whimper and picked up his pace across the rooftops.

*

 **Age 4**. "You can't play ninja with us."

Kazuki turned back to see a stocky boy's hopeful smile die. He was struck by the familiarity of the red swirls on the boy's chubby cheeks.  _…Chouji?!_ The kid wore a green turtleneck under blue overalls that he was now balling into tiny fists, "Why?"

"'Cuz whichever team you're on will defini'ly lose. You're too _slow_."

Kazuki frowned and turned towards the speaker, "But we've got odd numbers. It’s no fun if one team has more players than the other."

"Having useless players is the same as having none at all."

Kazuki frowned in a half-pout and started to protest when he realized that the chubby kid had already left. He darted into the main street, but the boy was already long gone.  _Slow, my ass._

Five minutes in, he was already antsy and bored. He was pretty sure that the boy had been Chouji. Considering the fact that he tired much more easily than others (ever since the onrush of dreams had struck), he decided to let himself get "killed" and wandered off. He didn't know how he could miss someone that he had only met in fragmented memories.

Then again, team ten had been irreplaceable. Ino had been an angry harpy at times, but she had been  _his_  angry harpy, guaranteed to galvanize a team that was otherwise too languid. Complementing her, Chouji was their ground, the kind and steadfast roots of their team. He sighed again. If he wasn't a Nara, would their team still be formed? He frowned and made a note to look into his old clan.

Before he knew it, he found himself climbing the stairs to his old cloud watching haunt. As far as he knew, he was still safe from Sasuke's hovering tendencies there. As the roof came into view, he overheard the low murmur of a conversation. He paused for a moment, before shrugging. Now that he was almost there, the prospect of finding another spot to cloud watch seemed like too much effort.

Climbing the stairs, words gradually became more distinguishable, "…If you meet him, treat him as your best friend, and become comrades who will trust in each other more than anything else." Was that Chouza?

Reaching the rooftop, he spotted the boy who had left with surprise, "Hey you-!"

Startled eyes met his, "You're that kid!"

Remembering his manners, he pushed down his surprise and gave a small nod to the adult, who acknowledged him with a smile and stood up to leave. He studied the uncertain features of the boy as the kid turned to watch his father leave, and searched for something to say. Ambling over in a slouch, he introduced himself "I'm Kazuki... You're in my seat."

"Your seat?"

"Yeah," plopping himself down next to the boy, Kazuki continued, "I like to watch the clouds here."

"You came to stare at the clouds?"

He shrugged, crossed his arms behind his head, and lay down.

"What about the ninja game?"

"Heh, ‘got tired of it, so I ditched them. What's your name?" He turned towards the boy who had started to smile again.

"Chouji! Akimichi clan's Akimichi Chouji!" Chouji beamed and pulled out a bag before settling down next to Kazuki. Crinkling the bag open, he proffered the bag to the side, "I got some snacks."

Kazuki felt tension, he didn't know he had, leave him. He was relieved that some things, at least, were a universal constant _._

*

Itachi stood in the rain, just inside walls bracketing the main entrance of the compound. Part of him was relieved he and Shisui had finally devised some strategies. The other part was still stunned that tensions had already developed to this point.  _Things were escalating much faster than we had forecasted._

As heir to the clan head, part of his responsibilities included procuring emergency clan resources, including medical field packs, food rations, and commonly used weaponry. In the recent months, his father had been asking for higher numbers of these supplies. When he had asked, his father had said that these raised numbers were in preparation for when the village would start requesting the Uchiha clan to complete more dangerous missions. However, Shisui had reported that the majority of missions assigned to Uchihas had thus far been limited to inside the village.

_If these numbers were raised in anticipation of trust that would never be given…._

Now, the two of them were banking on Itachi's strength and appeal as a genius of the Uchiha and of Konoha. He hoped the recent developments from his last mission would aid their gamble.

"Nii-san?"

Itachi turned to see Kazuki staring up at him with concerned furrowed brows.

"Why are you standing in the rain? Did you just get back?"

Itachi gave him a tired grin and deflected, "Why are _you_  standing in the rain Kazu-kun?" Throwing an arm over the boy's thin shoulder, he pulled the boy against his side and started towards one of the main pathways.

Kazuki frowned, "I gave my umbrella to a friend, since he had farther to walk." He paused, and scrutinized Itachi with narrowed eyes, "Something happened on your last mission, didn't it?" Kazuki wasn't sure if he imagined Itachi's widened eyes, before a wide smile split his brother's face and caused him to take a small step back.

Itachi's grinned wickedly as he held Kazuki tight and ruffled his hair despite the squirming and flailing, "Aww, my little brother is worried about me." When he finished, several strands had fallen out of the pony tail that Kazuki had taken to wearing since a year back. Itachi laughed at Kazuki's disgruntled expression, "Where's Sasuke? Are you still hiding from him?"

Kazuki's pout became even more exaggerated, "He's so troublesome. He wants me to rest where he can see me, but then he wants me to train with him so I won't tire as easily and so he can beat you, and then he chases me all over the place and …" He sighed and dropped his head to his chest. "I'm glad you're back. You can deal with him."

Itachi laughed for what felt like the first time in a long time and ruffled Kazuki's hair again. Irritating his two brothers was just too easy. "I don't think I'll be home for very long."

Kazuki gaped at him, betrayed, "Aaah? You might be a genin, but you're eight and you've been gone for like four months, so you should have at least a month at home!"

Itachi raised his brows, impressed, "Oh? Why a month?" He watched as Kazuki grimace and blush.  _I've really missed your growth, haven't I?_  After watching Kazuki struggle to spit out an answer, he tugged Kazuki's ponytail, "Race you back!" and jogged off with a laugh.

"Eh? No fair!"

*

Using two fingers, Itachi stopped Sasuke's forward dash with a light poke to his forehead, "Sorry Sasuke, maybe tomorrow." He watched Sasuke's cheeks puff out with indignation. "Have you been taking care of your brother?" He grinned inwardly.  _If Kazuki only knew who had first set Sasuke on him._

Indignation forgotten, Sasuke nodded proudly, "He's still lazy though. Father's always after him to practice throwing shuriken. But if father doesn't watch us, he climbs up the trees and sleeps."

"Climbs the trees?"

"Yea, and father can't say anything cuz Mother said to let him sleep when he can." Itachi wasn't surprised. After the night Itachi had discovered Kazuki and taken him to the hospital, the hospital had only been able to diagnose Kazuki with extreme chakra deprivation. For the first month, Kazuki hadn't been able to stay awake for more than a minute and had been bedridden for another three months. He had only been able to stand when Itachi had left. None of the medical personnel could provide them with an explanation. Itachi suspected the doctors were hesitant to speculate on the health of an Uchiha patient. 

Itachi frowned, "Does he still have nightmares?"

Sasuke shrugged, "I dunno, he doesn't wake me anymore, but he still sleeps a lot – especially in the library. I think he's just being a sleepyhead. Hey, hey can I see your sharingan? Father said you got it during your mission!"

_So father has an Uchiha reporting to him in the mission center?_

"Tomorrow. Go to bed – father still wishes to speak with me." Sighing exaggeratedly, Sasuke slouched off toward his room.

Once Sasuke had disappeared around the corner, Itachi headed back towards the kitchen, but paused with his hand hovering over the door handle when he heard Kazuki's voice, " – Chouji's dad said it's unusual for genin to be assigned so many back-to-back missions outside of the village, unless it's been requested."

"You may be young, but that does not excuse you from talking to outsiders about matters of our clan."

"I didn't! And anyway, you said that Itachi's gotten the sharingan. I know how you get the sharingan! Those lines under his eyes have only gotten worse; aren't you worried that-"

Itachi heard the resounding thump of a fist hitting the floor. Deciding he had heard enough, he slid open the door and feigned ignorance, pretending to only just sense the tension in the room. It wasn't too difficult. Kazuki's head was down, avoiding his father's glare. "Something wrong?"

Kazuki shook his head, while his father answered, "No, Kazuki was just going to bed."

Without looking up, Kazuki gave a quick bow, and brushed past Itachi with a whispered, "G'night."

*

Kazuki sat in his bed, looking over the mess of knotted rope in his hands. During his stay at the hospital, his family had assumed that he had taken an interest in lanyards to pass the time and improve the dexterity in his hands. In truth, he had been recording what he could remember. He had knotted a separate lanyard for every major event he had been able to recall, using colors to code in the minor incidents in each event. Currently, he was focused on modifying the lanyard representing what he could recall about the Uchiha Massacre.

He had initially focused on the logistics of a massacre. Aside from Obito and Itachi, Sasuke had been the last surviving Uchiha, which meant that somehow, the attack had happened quickly and en mass. Rumors and Sasuke had both identified Itachi as the sole instigator of the attack, which would imply that the Uchiha had been gathered together for some event, remote triggered traps had been set, poison was involved, or some combination of the above.

From his exploration around the compound, he had only detected a few harmless traps, designed as security measures. He had found nothing that could be remotely triggered to kill. He was still looking into potential counters to poisons, but progress was slow since he didn't know what type of poison was most likely used.

He wasn't very confident in his ability to counter everything Itachi could have conceived. Though he intended on continuing his research and explorations, he knew that if he were Itachi, he'd have contingency plans behind contingency plans. However, that only left countering the motivation of the massacre, which was where he was stuck.

He flopped backwards on his bed. It was just… he was missing so much information. Sasuke wanted to avenge his clan. But right after he killed Itachi, he joined the Akatsuki and declared his intent to destroy the village.  _Then again…_

Kazuki narrowed his eyes; he still remembered the shocked confusion at Sasuke's sheer gall, jumping into the chaos with his declaration to become Hokage to change the village.  _As if we'd accept any of his changes._

…  _How did Sasuke ever become something like that?_ At least he had been fighting with them against Madara and Obito … who were both Uchihas.

Would he inherit the insanity that seemed to plague the Uchihas? No one really seemed to be insane now. Unless…, a conversation with his old man floated to the forefront of his mind.  _People can make mistakes in shougi, Shika, just like in life. But don't be so quick to dismiss moves as mistakes. Just because you do not see the motive, doesn't mean it isn't there._

He sat up and returned his attention to the lanyard.

_To change the village._

Sasuke wanted to avenge his clan, so he killed Itachi. If he thought the village wronged his clan, he would want to destroy the village. But what would direct his rage towards the village?

He thought back. The hokages that had arrived in their battle against Obito hadn't seemed surprised by Sasuke's arrival. In fact, judging by the timing of the arrivals, Sasuke was the one who had brought the hokages. So did the hokages change his mind? But what could they have known…?

The third. Sandaime. He was the only one who could have known enough about Sasuke to say something of influence.

So the Sandaime was involved in a decision that, on the surface, could be blamed for the clan's demise? However, that still didn't explain Itachi's decision to kill everyone. He glanced at another lanyard lying to the side, the one for the Godaime.

He picked it up and started to add new knots when he realized that he had forgotten to add another incident to the lanyard timeline. Why did Itachi decide to attack the village after the Chuunin exams?

Finishing, he dropped the lanyard down. And was it really an attack? From what he could remember, Asuma had said that Itachi had easily taken down Kakashi in the presence of both Asuma and Kurenai.

He gathered the lanyards and colored rope. Tucking them under his pillow, he curled up beneath his sheets. Assuming Asuma's story was true, Itachi had been made captain of ANBU before the massacre. The next chuunin exams weren't for another year. Based on Itachi's fast progression through the Academy and the promotion rotations, it would probably take him another year to become ANBU. By then, he would be 11, so it would probably take another three or four years for him to be old enough for others to respect as a captain.

_So I have at least four or five years. Probably._

Five years to solve four questions. Why would Itachi attack his family? How was he able to kill everyone in one night without detection? How was Itachi's attack connected to the Sandaime? What was the nature of the village or Sandaime's involvement?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *'Oyaji' means old man. Writing 'old man' there just didn't seem to fit.
> 
>  **Conception Notes:**  
>  Shikamaru's name. It was hard to let go of his name, especially I like how it shortens to 'Shika'. Initially it was going to be Yasu, then Yuki, then Yukiyasu, (which were all chosen on the themes of peace and happiness - ideas that I think Itachi fought for), but none of them sounded right. I then considered Kazumi, but discovered that was a female's name XD
> 
> I did not fully appreciate how much of a genius Itachi was until I tried to vomit out all my plot bunnies in a coherent manner. Yeesh. Thanks for reading :)


	2. Requiem's Prelude

**Age 5**. Despite the urgency spearing his chest, he felt like he was wading through a swamp - forward and forward and nowhere at all. The mist was growing thicker, and though he knew it was to protect the Alliance, the inability to see was just another impediment slowing him down. Gasping and struggling, he pushed back growing panic as he was struck with dreaded certainty that…

Kazuki woke up without warning, covered in cold sweat. Chest heaving, he pushed himself up and felt the weight on his legs shift. Moonlight spilled over the covers, casting shadows and illuminating a still form lying atop his covers. It was his older twin, who was currently acting like a limpet, curled around both of his legs. No wonder it had felt like he was going nowhere.

Gingerly, he tried to remove his legs from Sasuke's grasp. When his efforts only caused Sasuke to curl up even more tightly, he sighed and gritted his teeth. Reaching down, he flicked the boy's forehead, causing Sasuke to recoil back with a sleepy whine. Seizing his chance, he quickly replaced his legs with his pillow, leapt out of bed, and froze comically in place with one foot in the air. When he was certain he hadn't roused his brother, he stepped back.  _He must have heard my nightmares again._

Sasuke shivered. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed the covers that had fallen on the floor and covered his brother's prone form. The little idiot was going to catch a cold.

Rubbing his neck, he turned and trod toward the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and waited for the water to chill. Dealing with Sasuke had dispersed most of the nightmare's panic. But once the panic ebbed, pain and exhaustion rose in its place. Splashing the cold water against closed eyes helped to drain away some of the dull throbbing that thudded in his head. Pressing his heels against his eyes, he waited for drowsiness to return. It was a little disturbing how easily he tired these days.

It wasn't too long before he felt sleep drag at his eyelids and made his way back with a yawn. Soon, he found himself standing at the side of the bed, watching Sasuke sleep. Wrapped around the pillow, head tucked away, Sasuke suddenly seemed ridiculously young and innocent.  _Was that why Itachi spared him?_

_Spared him when he had killed everyone else, including the children..._

Shaking his head, he grimaced at himself. In his current state, there was no point in thinking about the topic this late at night. Gently, he nudged Sasuke aside and settled under the covers. Just as he was ready to drift off, he was struck by another thought.

If he failed to prevent the massacre… would Itachi spare him?

*

"Itachi?"

Itachi looked backwards to see his mother gathering dishes, "Mother?"

"I heard you had the day off today..?" she shot him a hopeful, if harried, look.

Anticipating her request, Itachi smiled, "I can watch the two of them. How long will you be gone?"

"Oh, it shouldn't be for too long, I just need to drop off a couple of packages." She pushed back her hair with the back of her wrist, "I'm not too worried about leaving Kazuki alone. He always manages to find Chouji; and since he's Chouza's boy, a clan heir and all, I'm sure Kazuki will be safe. I'm more worried about Sasuke training by himself." With the swift efficiency of a long-practiced movement, she stacked a set of food containers in the center of a square piece of bright fabric. With a twist of the hand, she expertly knotted the fabric around the boxes.

"Here's lunch. There's enough for all of you in there."

Itachi nodded and accepted the package. "Are they outside?"

As his mother untied her apron in a hurry, she added, "Yes, just out the back, I think. Oh, and please make sure Kazuki finishes his share! That boy's lazy enough to sleep through his meals if he had the choice." Having finished tidying up the kitchen, she thanked Itachi again as she rushed out the kitchen.

The silence didn't last a second before Itachi heard an aggravated cry, "KAAAZZZZZUUUUKKIIIIII!"

Well, now he knew where they were.

When he reached the courtyard, he saw Sasuke ranting at Kazuki, who lay on the ground, languidly rolling away with every step Sasuke took.

Spread-eagled in the dirt and staring at the sky, Kazuki looked completely inattentive.

"We're going to go to the Academy tomorrow, so we have to be prepared," Sasuke proclaimed, arms akimbo in frustration.

Kazuki finally rolled onto his stomach and gave Sasuke a flat look, "For what?"

Sasuke stretched his arms above him, waving for emphasis, "To represent our clan!"

"How?" Kazuki drawled.

"With… with taijutsu!" Taking the basic Form I stance, he lectured, "Father said Itachi already knew the basic forms before he was a student, so we should too."

Despite his distance, Itachi could hear Kazuki, chin now propped on one hand, grumble under his breath, "Is that what father says or what you say?"

Seeing that Kazuki's attention was waning, Sasuke started to demonstrate, "I saw one of the older Academy students practice this form in the courtyards! Just watch!" Itachi's eyes widened as he saw that the angle of foot placement that Sasuke was adopting was completely incorrect. If he followed through that with that motion, he would twist his ankle.

Before he said anything though, Kazuki had sat up, grabbed a stick, and jabbed Sasuke hard in the stomach. The sudden push caused Sasuke to stumble backwards as he was thrown off balance, "Itaii!"

Kazuki frowned at Sasuke, "Stop rushing everything. You're so troublesome. Didn't you twist your ankle the last time you tried something new?"

Sasuke flushed and growled petulantly, "Did not!"

Not dignifying Sasuke with a verbal reply, Kazuki half-heartedly jabbed at Sasuke again from his seat on the ground. Dodging, Sasuke made to grab Kazuki's stick, "Stop it, how'd'you always find these sticks anyway? If you just wanna nap all day, then fine! But don't stop me from training!"

Before matters could degenerate further, Itachi stepped into view. Even though he hadn't said a word, Kazuki greeted him with a deadpanned, "He started it," and pointed at Sasuke with his stick.

Furious, Sasuke yanked the stick away and attempted to use it to hit Kazuki. But Kazuki had already darted up with surprising speed and hidden himself behind Itachi's legs. Knowing he'd only make matters worse if he laughed, Itachi beckoned Sasuke with a wave of the hand.

Anger momentarily forgotten, Sasuke trotted up. Once in reach, Itachi picked him up and swung him over his shoulder. "First thing, Kazuki, you shouldn't hit your brother."

"Hah!"

Itachi shrugged his shoulder, jostling Sasuke’s head from where the boy had been resting in silent admonishment, and turned to see Kazuki staring expectantly at him.

He amended, "For no reason."

They were training to become shinobi after all.

Sasuke punched Itachi's back in protest, "Hey!"

"I was fixing his stance."

He raised a brow and held a hand out for Kazuki to hold as they left the house, "By interrupting it?" Albeit, Itachi admitted, the boy had interrupted Sasuke at just the right angle. Shoving him off-balance from a different angle could have made things worse. Now, whether or not it was an accident…

"Yeah. He was going to hurt himself."

"No, I wasn't! An' lemme down!" Sasuke piped up at the same time as Itachi was intrigued and asked "How did you know?"

"He was trying something new. Chouji's dad said never to try something new by ourselves. …Also, where are we going?" Itachi glanced at Kazuki's guileless eyes and wondered if the subject change was a poor attempt at deflection or the result of a child's short attention span.

"The playground."

Immediately, Sasuke started protesting, "Ehhh? I thought we were going to go to the training grounds! You promised to show me how to throw shuriken!"

Kazuki slouched further, "What a pain."

*

As they made their way back, this time with Kazuki riding piggyback on Itachi's shoulders, Sasuke started to tug on Itachi's hand.

"What's wrong?"

Kazuki followed Sasuke's gaze to a building on their right, "This is where our father works right?"

Itachi answered, "It's the headquarters of Leaf's Police Force." He missed Kazuki's quizzical expression.

"I always wondered," Sasuke began, staring intently at the building, "Why do the police have our house symbol?"

Itachi was startled his brother's one-track mind had noticed, "What, you knew about that?"

"Of course!"

Itachi grinned at the indignation in Sasuke's voice, "Well, to make it simple… it's been said that the man who made this organization was our ancestor. That's why they put the house emblem as the symbol of this place. Our clan protected the order of this village from long ago."

Adjusting his hold on Kazuki, he continued, "Our emblem is also a mark of our honorable clan. The Uchiha clan hasn't decreased but almost all of us are working for the first division of the force and participating in keeping the order of the village. Only highly skilled shinobi can enforce the laws on shinobi crimes."

"Then who watches the Uchiha?"

Itachi tilted his head back at Kazuki's question, "Being an Uchiha doesn't mean that the police can give us special treatment. Rather, to uphold the name, the police would be more likely to give an Uchiha the less desired type of special treatment." Seeing Sasuke's confused expression, he elaborated, "If you were in trouble, would you be more afraid of father or the police?"

Without hesitation, both twins replied, "Father."

Holding back a smile at the speed in which he was answered, Itachi nodded, "Exactly."

Sasuke cocked his head to the side, "Are you going to join too?"

Itachi answered noncommittally, "Hmm, maybe."

"You should!"

Itachi felt Kazuki squirm behind him, "What is it?"

Kazuki hesitated, "But, does everyone know that? Wouldn't other people think we were getting special treatment if the only police are Uchiha? Isn't that like one family ruling over everyone else?" Before either of his brothers could respond, he hastily added, "We'd be like the evil overlord!"

Sasuke pouted, "Take that back! We're not evil!"

Before Kazuki could twist out of his hold, Itachi set him down, allowing him to dart off, "Nyah, can't catch me." Itachi stared thoughtfully at the police headquarters building, watching Sasuke pursue Kazuki from his peripheral vision.

*

Kazuki watched the clouds crawl past as Chouji chomped on chips at his side. It would have been nostalgic had he not been mulling over what he had just learned. Flipping over to his side, he idly started gathering the scattered pebbles lying on the roof.

As it stood, there was little more he could do towards interfering with the logistics of the attack. He was fairly certain that he would be able to execute a counter for a poison attack by the next year.

Over the course of the year, he had managed to gather ingredients required for stasis pills. Due to the larger distances, the medicine wouldn't be effective outside the village, but it would provide enough time for patients or medics to reach one another. Squirreling away the requisite equipment had been more of a challenge, but a necessary one from what he remembered as a Nara. By his calculations, gathering enough ingredients for the whole clan would only take another six months – plenty of time to develop, if not discover, an alert system to the hospital.

However, he knew that plan was full of risks. A preventative plan would be far better than a mitigation plan, but there was just too much he didn't know.

He knew he was dealing with five players. He found four distinctive rocks to place aside: a smooth black skipping stone for Itachi, a fist-sized sandy limestone for the Uchiha, a small white pebble for Sasuke, and a rusty brown tile for the Sandaime.  _One more…_  Eyes alighting on a fallen leaf, he reached out and snagged it, before sweeping the area free of the debris.

His instinct said that he had been staring at the breeding grounds for unrest that morning. A police force comprised entirely of one clan? He laid the leaf over the limestone. Such a force would almost guarantee a dislike of the Uchiha by the village. But maybe he was being too cynical. After all, from what he had seen and remembered, the villagers had seemed to respect, if not revere the Uchiha name.

Then again, maybe they didn't want to speak ill of the dead. There had been a lot of dead after all.

Reacting to a gust of wind, he flipped his hand to weight down the leaf with the limestone

– and stared.  _Or maybe…_

Would the Uchiha dislike the village? If the police force belonged to the Uchiha, then it was unlikely that many Uchiha could be spared for village missions. If Uchihas couldn't take many missions, then the clan's funding would probably be affected.

For that matter, how was the police funded?

Most likely, the police could only be funded by the clan or by the benevolence of the village council. If the Uchiha were reliant upon the village, they would be limited in how much they could demand – out of pride, propriety, and simple feasibility. Policing was an honorable duty. Demanding recompense would be unsightly- unlike with high-stake missions.

He could almost see the metaphoric chains constraining the Uchiha's movements.

If that were the case, the Sandaime would almost certainly be aware of the discontent. He grabbed the red tile and thumbed it absentmindedly as he remembered the pressure his father was placing on Itachi and, inadvertently, on Sasuke. After all… his father was hardly the type to stifle his voice. Hesitantly, he balanced the tile on the limestone. Ignoring the implications of the placement of his last piece, he turned his attention to the remaining pieces.

Originally, one of the ideas he had tossed around when he was younger was that Itachi had snapped from the pressure. It wasn't the most ideal explanation for a number of reasons. At the same time, he realized as he reached for the black pebble, that didn't change the fact that Itachi was carrying a lot on his shoulders.

As a former clan head heir himself, he understood a little of the responsibilities that Itachi was tasked with, but he had no idea how much more Itachi took on as an Uchiha. Aside from being an heir to Fugaku, Itachi was also a genius, which was a double-edged sword that he also understood much too well.

On one hand, a high IQ would help a person protect those they loved. At the same time, it meant that everyone gambled and placed their bets on that person.

Kazuki clenched his fists. His own physical weaknesses back then meant that as much as his team relied on him, he also  _had_  to rely on them.  _Did Itachi have someone to rely on? Was he aware of that was an option?_

He stared at the red tile. If Itachi relied on someone outside of the Uchiha clan, someone who wasn't adding to the pressure, would he….?

Gingerly, he added the black pebble to the stack, next to the space beside the red tile, on top of the limestone.  _Would he help the Hokage suppress a rebellion?_

The implications that he had tried to suppress earlier, blew through his mind. If the Uchiha rebelled, the Hokage would almost certainly be compelled to respond – most likely with force. For a clan as proud and as powerful as the Uchiha, a complete culling was almost certainly necessary since it was the … easiest and fastest solution. He shuddered.

It was hard to think of the old man as that type of person, especially since he still remembered the Sandaime's funereal photograph and Konohomaru's devastated sobs.

… _responding with such force... Force._

…  _Danzo!_

 _He could_   _be that type of person._  He gazed at the lone white stone. Sasuke had killed Danzo. Danzo had also seized power immediately following Tsunade's fall. Danzo was also the one who had authorized the kill-order on Sasuke.

He remembered the Rookie 9's gossip surrounding Sai. Who else was he unaware of that operated from the shadows?

He felt like he was balancing on a tightrope as he picked up the white stone. He had connected all of the parties. But the connections were so tenuous. At the same time,  _everything_  had been connected, even memories that he had initially thought irrelevant. It would also explain Sasuke's actions.

He swept his hand through and wrecked the stack, releasing the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He didn't want to believe it. Despite himself, his thoughts raced onwards.

Back then, he had been a little surprised to hear news of Itachi's defeat at the hands of Sasuke. After all, Itachi had been rendered Kakashi comatose with ease. Having fought with Kakashi before, he knew Kakashi wasn't an easy opponent – and Sasuke had been trained by Kakashi. He knew victories over opponents weren't exactly transitive, where if opponent A could beat B, and opponent B could beat C, then opponent A should be able to beat C. He was also well aware that these battles took place at different times, with plenty of time for opponents to grow and develop – which was why he had only been surprised and not skeptical at the news. Towards the end, Sasuke had changed so much that he really couldn't claim to know him.

But if his guesses about the connections were correct ….and from his own interactions with his brothers….  _Had Itachi let Sasuke kill him?_

A sick feeling grew in his stomach. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. A few more scattered thoughts rushed through his head, but he forcefully emptied his mind and sighed. He was making too many suppositions.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by Chouji shifting forward. "What's up?"

Chouji held out his snack bag to Kazuki as he leaned forward and pointed, "There's a kid painting the shops."

Kazuki dug out a chip, "Thanks. Wait, really?" He pushed himself forward. Sure enough, there was a familiar looking blonde in bright orange, dancing through the rooftops with bright colors trailing behind him in speckled splashes.

Kazuki sank back, recalling a distant promise.

_That loneliness…I don't want him to go through anything remotely similar to those things, ever again._

This… _this_  was something he could change.

*

Itachi trailed behind Sasuke as they headed towards the playground to pick up Kazuki. Looking around him, it seemed as if other older siblings and adults had the same idea. By the time he saw Kazuki, on the outskirts of the playground with two others, there were only a handful of children running around. Strangely enough, Sasuke wasn't with Kazuki, and was instead playing tag with a few girls. The roles in the game seemed to be reverse though, with Sasuke scampering away, but it had been awhile since Itachi had played those games. "Kazuki! Sasuke! Time to go home!"

While Sasuke immediately darted forwards, Kazuki was slower to react. Stepping backwards towards Itachi, he waved, "See you later Chouji! Naruto!" When the blond boy's smile dimmed, Kazuki added, "Naruto, I'll see you at the Academy!"

"Yeah!"

*

As they stepped into view of the compound, Itachi felt Sasuke start as their father stepped fully into view, "You're late. What were you doing? I've got something to tell you."

Before he could reply, their father glanced at the setting sun, "Let's hurry back."

Soon enough, the three of them were kneeling in front of Fugaku. Kazuki struggled not to scowl. He would almost prefer his old mom's nagging to this evaluating silence.  _Troublesome_.

Finally Fugaku smiled, "That's my boy. You've gotten this far in half a year since you've become a chuunin."

Kazuki saw Sasuke glance at Itachi from the corner of his eye.

"I’ve decided to join tomorrow's special mission." Fugaku paused, then spoke again in a lower voice, "If this mission is successful, your enlistment into ANBU will be official."

 _ANBU? Already?_ Kazuki managed to keep his face impassive and forced himself to relax his grip on his knees. He had been so careful watching Itachi's reactions, that he almost missed his father flicker his sharingan, "Do you understand?"

Despite the tension, Itachi simply smiled in response, "Don't worry about it too much." He continued, "However…" He glanced at both him and Sasuke meaningfully, as if prompting them to speak.

Kazuki gave Itachi a nonplussed look.  _Was I supposed to say something?_

With a tremulous and hopeful smile, Sasuke began, "Erm Dad, for tomorrow's…"

 _Oh right. The Academy._ Kazuki was pretty sure he had blocked himself from thinking about the subject.  _Oops_.

Speaking over Sasuke, his father sought to refocus the conversation, "Our mission tomorrow will become a very important event for our clan."

Sasuke lowered his head, bangs covering his disappointment.

"I guess I'll drop tomorrow's mission."

Kazuki snapped his head to the side to stare at Itachi.

Fugaku erupted, "What are you insane?! You know how crucial tomorrow is! What's going on with you?!"

With a calm, but serious, expression, Itachi replied, "I'm going to Sasuke and Kazuki's entrance ceremony into the ninja academy. The entrance ceremony usually requires one's relative to come along. You've also received the notice, Father." 

Kazuki stared incredulously at his oldest brother. _Did he just smile?_

Fugaku looked stunned for a moment. Bowing his head, he stood up, "I understand. I'll go to the academy." Having spoken the last word, their father exited the room with his back as stiff as at the start of the conversation.

Kazuki watched as Itachi reminded Sasuke to keep the wrist he had strained that morning cooled down, before leaving the room, unruffled as always. Sasuke's emotions were clearly mixed as he followed after Itachi.  _You'd expect him to be happier after what Itachi had just done._  Kazuki finally stood and watched the backs of his family recede down the hall to disappear around the corner.

Had he really been that unaware of Itachi's progress? How was Itachi already ready to be recruited by ANBU? Was he truly that skilled or were there political machinations going on? Judging by how easily his father had given in, Kazuki was inclined to guess that it was Itachi's skill. Otherwise, Fugaku would have been far more insistent.

Kazuki gazed at the shadow he cast down the hall and sighed. If the time came, if he wanted to have any hope of being able to do anything, he would need to start focusing on building his chakra stores.

He didn't understand why his chakra reserves were still so persistently low as an Uchiha, when Kakashi's comments had indicated that they should be otherwise. He had hoped that would change as he got older. But with Itachi advancing so quickly, he knew he needed to revise his timeline.

If he could regain a sufficient enough chakra supply, he was fairly certain he could retrieve some of his old skill. Although incomparable to the powerhouses back then, he still had been able to trap a bijuu for a few seconds. And with everything proceeding as fast as they were, he really needed that ability to stall, to give him that extra second to think.

Though at that moment, he wished his thoughts would just stop.  _Our mission tomorrow will become a very important event for our clan_.

Because all he could think about …

_I guess I'll drop tomorrow's mission_

…was how well everything was fitting the hypothesis he had made that morning.

*

Kazuki jerked himself awake for the fifth time that morning. He was standing among the entering students in one of the rows towards the back – farther from the Hokage, but closer to his father – the one person guaranteed to give him a lecture he couldn’t dodge out from if he actually fell asleep. _What a pain. Why'd you want father to come anyway, Sasuke…?_

Fighting back another yawn, he dug his nails into his skin. He had stayed up the night before to modify his schedule based on his hypothesis that Danzo or Sarutobi had manipulated Itachi into killing the clan for the sake of a friend. Aside from continuing his work on the stasis pills, he had decided to focus on building greater village relations with the Uchiha. Theoretically, that would reduce or slow down the perception of any enmity from either side. With the number of heirs to major clan heads in his class, he was hoping that improving such relations could be accomplished through the help of his friends – once he had them.

Strangely, despite his exhaustion, his chakra levels had never felt higher. They were still nowhere close to the heights he held in his dreams, but they were still three times higher than usual.

Finally, the Hokage finished, "Everyone, congratulations on entering. From this day forth, please work hard to follow the shinobi way." Eager to leave the assembly, Kazuki turned to find his father. There, at the edge of the row, stood Fugaku – with his eyes closed.  _Drat, I probably could have napped for a bit._

Fugaku's eyes snapped open. Kazuki inwardly cringed.  _Or not_. Actually, with his father's frown and crossed arms, Kazuki wouldn't be surprised if the man's attention was still stuck on Itachi's mission. Rolling his eyes, he turned to see Sasuke trying to hide a sad pout.  _Guess he noticed._ He sighed and hung his head.  _Yeesh_ ,  _this kid_.

With a smirk, he lunged forward and slung an arm around Sasuke's shoulders, "So, looks like we're going to be starting the Academy together. You better not raise father's expectations too high for me." Startled, Sasuke stumbled forward and shot him a confused look.

"You're going to surpass Itachi, right? Well, just don't drag me with you," Kazuki yawned again as he flapped a hand at Sasuke. He succeeded in coaxing a smile out of Sasuke. Before he could say anything else or look for his friends, he caught sight of his father approaching, "Oh shoot!" Quickly, he removed his arm from Sasuke's shoulders and straightened his shirt.

*

By the time they got home, Kazuki was ready to collapse from sheer exasperation instead of exhaustion. With father walking him home, Kazuki hadn't been able to escape to find Chouji or Naruto. Then, on the way back, they met Daikoku-sensei who just wouldn't stop praising Itachi.  _No wonder Sasuke had such a complex._

*

Naruto squinted at the boy in the front row as he listened to the whispers behind him.

"Hey, that's an Uchiha right?"

"Yea."

"He's probably really awesome eh?"

The boy didn't look like much to him. Plus, he had black hair like a … duck's butt. How anyone with duck butt hair could be cool was beyond him.

He frowned and glanced to the side. He had been excited that morning when Kazuki had still greeted him with a smile.  _Except…_

He prodded the head lying on the table beside him.  _Except… he was kind of boring_.

"Mmph. Is it break time yet? How annoying…" came a muffled voice. Eventually Kazuki's face emerged from the desk.

Instead of getting an answer, an open chip bag was placed over his head, "Do you guys want some?"

Naruto grinned and grabbed a chip as Kazuki mumbled into his sleeve.  _Well… Chouji was pretty cool_.

-0-

"Uchiha Kazuki and… Akimichi Chouji step up to the circle please."

From the corner of his eye, Kazuki watched Naruto start at his name.

"Umm…Sensei…" Kazuki returned his attention to Chouji, who seemed unusually distressed.

"What?"

"I don't really wanna beat up my friend."

He watched Iruka's attempt at encouragement, "That's not what we're doing. This is a traditional shinobi spar! Even the Hokage and his friends trained like this to help them grow strong."

On one hand, Kazuki knew that Chouji really needed to learn this lesson. On the other hand…

He turned and walked out of the circle.

On the other hand, it had taken Asuma months and several hundred ryou before Chouji even consented to a "spar". "Sensei, I'm fine with losing by ring out. Call the next pair."

He heard Iruka's aggravated sigh among the murmuring of the class. Following Iruka's instructions, he made the symbol of harmony with Chouji.

"Sorry, Kazuki."

"It's all good." He shrugged, "I know you hate this stuff, and I think it's troublesome anyway."

Once they cleared the ring and rejoined the rest of the class, Iruka called out, "Uhhh, next is Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto!"

Kazuki winced at the shrieks that erupted at Sasuke's name. Suddenly, he was glad that he had wrecked his image when he had been caught drooling on the desk in his sleep by Iruka. His attention was caught by Naruto's shout, "ALRIGHT! I WON'T LOSE THIS ONE!"

He didn't realize that the rivalry had started this early.

"LET'S ROCK, LOSER!"

He resisted the urge to slap his forehead. Sasuke wouldn't take that lying down.

"Naruto! Before the spar, you have to make the symbol of "combat"! It's the proper protocol!"

"WHO CARES ABOUT THAT? LEMME BEAT THIS LOSER UP ALREADY! TODAY'S THE DAY I BECOME POPULAR!"

He wasn't sure he could watch this. Sure enough, as he expected, he heard Sasuke proclaim, "So stupid. Fine. I'll take you down in one-"

Iruka intervened, "Stop, the both of you!" Despite his attempt to lecture both boys about basic sparring etiquette, it was clear that neither boy was listening. It didn't take long for Iruka to notice, "ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME, NARUTO?! THIS'S THE SECOND TIME I'VE TOLD YOU THIS!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"SAY 'YES' AND SAY IT ONCE YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

Eventually, Iruka was able to coax both boys to form the sign to start the spar. Kazuki watched as, true to his word, Sasuke rushed in and knocked down Naruto with a single blow. Naturally, Naruto refused to concede ( _when had he ever?)_  and began shouting insults. Iruka's attempts to get the two to reconcile were doomed with Naruto's hot temper, Sasuke's scornful comments, and the class's jeering remarks. Soon enough, Naruto leapt the fence and ran off.

 _In some ways, he never really did change, did he? In the meantime though, this was going to be a huge pain._ He huffed another sigh.

*

When Iruka finally called for a break, Kazuki broke away from Chouji, "Sasuke, what was up with the fight today?"

Sasuke huffed a short "What."

"There was no reason to take down Naruto like that."

"You're taking his side?" Sasuke said incredulously.

Kazuki pursed his lips, "You've had more training than he has. There was no reason to show off."

Sasuke's brows drew down, "He was the one who started with the insults! I didn't do anything to him!"

Frustrated, Kazuki replied, "That still doesn't give you the right to behave like that!"

Sasuke's nostrils flared, "What do you know? You gave up before you even fought."

"What. So you're just going to beat down anyone who insults you?"

Sasuke bristled, "No – !"

Before their argument could escalate, Iruka was calling the class together. When Iruka just resumed class as if Naruto's seat wasn't vacated, Kazuki was a little surprised. He was pretty sure that Iruka used to make an effort to chase down the class delinquents.  _Those had been fun times_.

By the time class ended, Kazuki was still stumped. He was sure Naruto would avoid him after the stunt that Sasuke had pulled. Actually, he was uncertain how to approach any of his old friends. In the past, he had always just been dragged into things by Ino. The friendships just grew by themselves, which was something he had been hoping would happen naturally again. He hadn't really had time to contemplate how forming these friendships would be different as an Uchiha.

He frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Hmm?"

Chouji was watching him with a worried expression. "I'm sorry I made you lose today's match."

Kazuki shook his head, "You didn't make me lose anything. Sparring would be too much of a hassle anyway. If anything, you did me a favor."

"A favor?"

"Yeah. Anyway, I was just worried about Naruto."

"Oh." Chouji shifted his weight from side to side for a moment, clearly uncertain about what to say. When he came up with nothing, he defaulted to what had always worked for him in the past, "Chips?"

For a moment, Kazuki stared.  _That…could work._ He smiled at Chouji, "Thanks!"

*

Mikoto focused on dabbing the rest of the ointment on her son's cheek. It was late in the afternoon and the house was mostly quiet with the exception of the conversation in the next room.

"…as expected from my child. Entering the ANBU squad, I knew I could trust you with my heart."

Mikoto frowned as she finished taping up the cuts that littered Sasuke's face. She wondered what her own mother would think of her now and regretted some of the words she had said as a young kunoichi. She never knew how hard it would be, raising children who were determined to become shinobi – exceptional ones at that. "Geez, you should rest your body properly. You don't have to push yourself too hard."

Sasuke stared at the door separating him from his father, "Brother… he only needed one year to graduate from the academy."

His competitiveness was as endearing as it was worrisome. She followed his gaze as she remembered making the decision to have a child during the war, "Times have changed since then…"  _That child had never had the chance to be a child._ "…and also, that boy is special."

*

Sasuke panted with his hands on his knees as he stared at the targets in aggravation. His aim was only getting worse.

"You're here again?"

He stiffened at the voice. Straightening up, he wiped away the sweat that threatened to fall into his eyes, and prepared himself for another throw. He flinched when he felt his brother come up from behind him to grab his arm. Though he tried to shrug Kazuki off with a violent twist, his brother held tightly. Despite his struggles, Kazuki forced his body through the motions as he spoke, "Quit it. Try twisting your shoulder back when you throw. Like this."

This time, elbowing Kazuki brought more success, and Kazuki let go with a soft "Oomph."

"What do you know? You never even train."

He saw Kazuki settle into a low crouch to his side. He ignored Kazuki's glare.

"What do you see?"

Taken aback by Kazuki's forceful question, Sasuke mustered an incoherent "Huh?"

"In front of you, how many kunai are there?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Ten."  _Obviously_.

"Wrong. Eleven."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

Nodding to the side, Kazuki continued with a clipped voice, "Your vision is obscured by that boulder. My vision isn't. Similarly, I'm not the one throwing the kunai – you are. Just because I don't train as much as you, doesn't mean I'm blind. I've watched Itachi throw just as you have."

Sasuke felt his anger grow with Kazuki's lecture.  _Who does he think he is? Fine. We'll see what he says after this._ This time, he followed Kazuki's instructions. To his dismay, he could already sense the difference that Kazuki's suggestion had made even before looking up to see his results.

"Great. You hit the target. Let's go."

Sasuke felt his anger drain away as guilt started to settle in his gut. He was unused to the coldness that Kazuki was directing at him. They never really had cause to fight before. Kazuki was too laid back for any of their skirmishes to really last. He didn't like what he was feeling.

He watched Kazuki dust off his pants. Despite everything, he grudgingly admitted to himself that Kazuki had still helped him.

He wasn't going to lose to him. Pursing his lips, he mumbled, "I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"That kid today…"

"Ah. You mean Naruto?"

"Whatever. I won't do it again – ok?" He felt the tension drain away as Kazuki gave him a wry grin.

"Aaah. Yeah right." Sasuke felt his face lose all expression. "Soon as he insults you, you'll retaliate."

Sasuke fumed, "Well, what do you expect?"

Kazuki laughed, "Ehhh, just keep me out of it ok? He's still a friend…. It's kinda awkward for me. Deal?"

"Why are you even friends with  _him_?"

"He's funny."

"He's an idiot."

 _Whap!_  "Yea…"

"Itaii! What'd you hit me for then?"

"Uh, my hand slipped."

The two of them bickered all the way back, unaware of their audience.

*

Satisfied that Kazuki had convinced Sasuke to leave the grounds, Itachi resumed his trek towards the cliffs. By the time he arrived, Shisui was already there.

Without preamble, Shisui spoke, "Do you know about the meetings at the Nakano shrine?"

Itachi nodded, "Have you been going?"

"No, but I just received an invitation today. Have you?"

Itachi shook his head. "I know which room they are meeting in, but I suspect father is still holding out on his hopes for me to be a connection to the village."

For a moment, Shisui said nothing. Instead, Itachi felt himself being scrutinized and quirked a brow.

"How is ANBU going?"

Itachi shrugged, "Fine. My missions have mostly been successful. I think the Hokage wants to trust me – I'm fairly certain Danzo's been having me watched for that reason alone."

Shisui gave him an apologetic smile and ducked his head, "Sorry Itachi. I had hoped to help share your burden."

"It couldn't be helped." Itachi smirked suddenly, "You're too old, sempai."

Shisui laughed, "Brat. Well, if the councilors don't want to trust me, then I'll focus on the clan elders. They respected my dad, so hopefully I can use that. You just focus on the village councilors. We'll have to be careful not to be seen together."

Itachi nodded and turned to leave.

"Another thing," Itachi looked back. "I know you were joking, but I don't think you were wrong about the age thing." Shisui gazed down at the river rushing below, "When the Kyuubi struck, no one had any warning. No one knew why it was attacking. For it to appear as suddenly as it did and as focused on the village as it was… it was something like the legends of old." Shisui turned and faced Itachi, "And in the legends, only the Sharingan could control the Kyuubi."

Itachi frowned, "But I thought you were on the front lines."

"No, to protect the younger generation, most of the younger chuunin and genin were prevented from entering the fight."

"And they still think you could have been involved with the attack?"

Shisui shrugged, "I had the sharingan and Danzou's a suspicious bastard. I wouldn't be surprised if he suspected anyone who had a sharingan at that time to be involved." He looked back out at the darkening sky, “Even if there’s only been one person who knew how to use the sharingan to control the bijuu.”

*

 **Age 6.**  Kazuki was jolted awake by Naruto's elbow to his ribs. However, it seemed as if Naruto hadn't acted fast enough as Iruka still bounced chalk off his head.  _Oops_.

The last half of the year had passed in a sleepy blur. At night, he practiced his shadow manipulation skills. During the day, he half-heartedly attempted to distract Naruto from antagonizing Sasuke, but his efforts were often wasted once he fell asleep. He had forgotten how boring Academy lectures could be. Despite his nocturnal sleeping habits and shadow training, his chakra levels only grew. He had a sinking suspicion he knew the cause.

Naruto let out a loud groan. Kazuki returned his attention to Iruka. "Well then, I'll give you back your report cards for the first semester. Make sure to bring it back with your parent's signature."  _Oh crap._ He didn't think his father would laugh if he told him that he had received a full score in every category.  _30/30 right?_

That night, they presented their report cards. Sure enough, Sasuke was first in the class and in the school – 1/30 in every category. To his surprise, his father had seemed too preoccupied to lecture him for very long.

 _Blablabla, uphold the Uchiha pride, blablabla._  Though, looking at his grades, it seemed like he was doing even worse than before. Scratching his head, he grimaced when he realized that he'd have to pull up his grades if he had any hope of graduating the Academy. He needed to figure out a better sleep schedule.

*

Naruto glanced at Chouji, who could only give him a shrug.

Despite his attempts to avoid Kazuki after fighting with his brother, the boy had simply cornered him the next day with a homemade lunchbox. The only explanation he was given was that the food was an apology for Sasuke's behavior. Initially, he had been wary. But when Kazuki never shunned him on the playground, he began to seek the Uchiha out more and more to play. He only wished Kazuki wouldn't sleep as much. Though, by the bags under Kazuki's eyes, Naruto guessed the kid kinda needed the sleep.

That was the only reason Naruto hadn't pranked Kazuki yet – though the temptation was growing stronger by the day.

Currently, Kazuki had stopped to stare at the forest to their right with what seemed to be an expression of longing on his face.  _Well, if he wanted to go in…_

Naruto grinned. "Let's play hide and seek! You're the seeker!" He tagged Kazuki with a shove and grabbed Chouji's hand, "Come on Chouji!"

"Wait, guys!"

Naruto grinned at Chouji as they ran, "You go that way. I'll distract him." When Chouji nodded, he leapt forwards with a yell, and charged deeper into the forest.

"Naruto don't - ! Ah, guys this is Nara land! We shouldn't be in here!"

Naruto grinned to himself as he scrambled up the tree. Kazuki would never think to look for him up the tree. When he painted the shops, no one had ever looked up. He snickered into his fist as he saw Kazuki disappear into the woods away from him. Besides, the forest was so huge, he doubted any Nara would find them to get them into trouble.

Despite his expectations, Kazuki came into view not five minutes later with Chouji in tow. Naruto frowned and closed his eyes.

"Just because you can't see me doesn't me I can't see you, you know."

Naruto huffed and opened his eyes. Kazuki was crouched on the forest floor, staring straight at him, chin propped up on hand.

"Awww, how'd you find us so quick?"

"I heard Chouji's snack bag. Also, your goggles reflected the sun. Now come on, only the Nara are supposed to be on this land."

Naruto was about to scramble down when he heard branches crunch. Everyone froze. The sounds of crunching branches and rustling leaves grew louder.

Kazuki scrambled up, "Shoot, Naruto get back up in the tree." He grabbed Chouji's snack bag and shoved Chouji forward, "Help Chouji up too."

Instead of listening, Naruto jumped down and pushed at Chouji's back, "Ehh? Let's run! They're gonna catch us if we stay."

"Naruto, that's the wrong way!"

Naruto paused, but before he could say anything, the rustling grew louder all around them. He backed up with Chouji. Pretty soon, he saw the head of a deer pop up.

"Whaaat? It's only a deer." But even as he said that, several more heads emerged from the thicket. They were surrounded. All of them had antlers, and some of them had started to lower their heads.

"When I say go," Kazuki began with a low voice, "Run back to the main road ok?" Some of the deer were tossing their heads and stamping their feet. They looked about ready to charge.

"But –" "Kazuki – "

"Guys, just trust me!"

The deer with the largest pair of antlers lowered his head.

"Go!"

Holding each other's hands, Naruto and Chouji ran. With fear chasing their heels, it took them a minute to realize that Kazuki hadn't followed them. Coming to a stop, they looked at each other. Naruto tightened his hold on Chouji's hand, "We have to go back."

Chouji gulped.

"Come on. We'll go quietly from the tree tops."

"My dad's friends with the Nara. We should probably – "

"No way, that'd take too long. Aren't you afraid something will happen to Kazuki?" He also didn't want Chouji's dad to meet him and take Chouji away.

Chouji visibly gathered himself. "Ok. Let's go."

By the time they found the spot they had left, they were shaking with nerves. For a moment, when he didn't see Kazuki, Naruto feared the worst. But then, he noticed familiar black spikes.

Kazuki was crouching on the ground, facing the deer with the largest pair of antlers.

"KAZUKI!" The deer startled and raised its head to face him and Chouji.

Immediately, tendrils of shadows seemed to streak up the deer's body, "Dammit Naruto!"

"Kazuki, what?" Naruto began while Chouji started, "Kazuki, you know shadow techniques?"

Kazuki gritted his teeth and replied with a tight voice, "Yea. I'll explain everything in a sec. Just… stay quiet ok?"

They both nodded. Naruto watched worriedly as Kazuki stood and grabbed the deer's head so that their foreheads touched. Naruto tried to breathe as quietly as he could as Kazuki seemed to just freeze in that position for a long time. He had to stamp down his instinct to flinch when he heard a distant rustle and thud from the treetops. Gradually, Naruto noticed that the deer's flanks had stopped heaving.

Finally, just as Naruto was about ready to scream, Kazuki closed his eyes, and the shadows receded. Almost complacently, the deer backed away and disappeared into the woods. As soon as the deer had left, Kazuki collapsed to his knees, panting.

"Kazuki!" Naruto chorused with Chouji.

"Keep your voices down!" he hissed.

Chastised, Naruto apologized, "What was that?"

"Ah Chouji, here's your chip bag."

Naruto wanted to erupt with his questions, "Kazuuuki!"

"I used the Kagemane no Jutsu to freeze the deer." He glanced at Naruto's uncomprehending expression and sighed, "Basically, I used their shadows to hold them."

"Ehh… you can do that? Can you teach me?" Naruto asked as he tugged Kazuki up. When it seemed as if Kazuki was going to fall again, Naruto and Chouji each slung one of his arm over a shoulder.

As they stumbled back towards the main road, Kazuki managed, "Actually… can you keep my use of it, a secret?"

"Huh, why?"

This time, Chouji explained, "The shadow techniques are part of the Nara clan's secrets."

Clan secrets. Again. Something he would never have. Naruto pouted, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kazuki panted, "Clan secrets are supposed to be difficult to learn and can usually only be used by members of that clan. Even if you were to learn it…unless it was a life or death emergency, it would be considered impolite to use it if you weren't part of the clan. The only reason I used it was to stop the deer from attacking us for trespassing."

"Oh." He looked at Kazuki, who was pale white.  _He used it … to protect me?_

Chouji spoke up, "Kazuki… How do you know the Kagemane no Jutsu?"

For a moment, Naruto thought Kazuki wasn't going to answer.

"It was kind of an accident." Kazuki took a breath, "You guys have to promise to keep this a secret."

They nodded solemnly.

Slowly, as if the words were being forced out of him, Kazuki continued, "I don't want to get into trouble for knowing how to use shadow techniques, … especially since I … kinda learned it from my dreams."

"Dreams?" Naruto was a little jealous. He wished he had those dreams.

"Yea…" When he saw Kazuki's haunted expression, he changed his mind.

"Just, don't tell anyone ok?"

Despite his guilt at Kazuki's exhausted state, Naruto couldn't help the little bubble of happiness rising inside him. He had never had to guard someone's secret before.

*

Kakashi stood in front of the memorial stone, "Obito. Sorry it's been so long."

He tried to excuse himself, "I escaped the hospital to see you."

His bandaged fingers traced the etched strokes of the characters on the stone, "I'll be able to visit you more now. Apparently I've become too distinctive for ANBU thanks to your gift."

Dropping his arm to his side, he tried to think of something else to say, "I think I saw sensei's son. He seemed happy… I think. He was playing with a Nara."

"I'm sorry I didn't let you see him." He touched his headband, covering his Sharingan.

"I don't think I would be a good influence."

*

"We can't allow it anymore!" Itachi kept his face impassive as he knelt before the village councilors.

"Koharu, wait! Don't jump to conclusions."

"They call it revolution. But if their real intention is to take back political power, we'll have to treat them as rebels."  _Shisui was right._

"However, Hiruzen, the Uchiha aren't going to stop. We must make our move right away to avoid confusion…. including the unknowing children."

Itachi kept his body still and stared at the ground in front of him. His fears were coming to pass.

"Don't say this in front of Itachi! Besides, if a civil war starts, it will be hard to fight against the Uchiha. We must think of a strategy."

"It's a race against time. We must act before they do anything. If we and our ANBU team up together, we can just make a surprise attack on them and end it right away."  _No, they wouldn't be able to._

"The Uchiha used to be our comrades in arms. I want to use words and not power against them. I'll think of a strategy. Itachi, try to gain as much time as you can."

Itachi nodded and waited for his dismissal. As he made his way towards the exit, he heard the distinctive approach of Danzo's cane and turned around.

"The Third talked like that, but he will act if the leaf needs to be protected. That's the way he is. If that happens, even he, as the Hokage, will have to take drastic measures. Whether the war happens or not… once they've tried to make a coup d'etat, the Uchiha will necessarily be annihilated – including your unknowing little brothers." Had Danzo been watching his family? Did he know about his communications with Shisui?

"But by acting before it happens, they can still be saved." Danzo studied Itachi's expression intently as he continued, "If the coup happens, your younger brothers will see everything. They will see their whole clan be destroyed by shinobi of the Leaf and will unmistakably want to get revenge on the village." Itachi knew what the next words would be.

"And in that case, they will have to be killed too."

Itachi stared flatly at the old advisor, "Is this a threat?"

Danzo widened his eye, "No, I want you to choose. You can either stand on the Uchiha's side, participate in the coup d'etat, and be destroyed together with your clan… or stand on the Leaf's side, save your brothers before the coup happens, and help destroy the Uchiha clan. To protect the village, we must absolutely stop the coup before everything falls into chaos. And the only one that can do this job is a double agent, working for both the Uchiha and the Leaf – in other words… you, Itachi." Even though he had expected these words for weeks, Itachi was still irritated at the man's presumption.

"Itachi, it will be a hard mission for you. But in exchange for that, I can let your younger brothers live. I'm sure you too want to protect the village. Do you accept this mission?"

Itachi closed his eyes, ducked his head, and strode away without a word. He knew that while Danzo would take his silence for agreement, he would be under even more surveillance than before.

He needed to meet with Shisui.


	3. Shattered Dreams

**Age 7** . "Here's your lunch. I packed extra onigiri for you again, so don't give everything to Chouji-kun ok? And give this to Sasuke would you?"

Using both hands to accept the lunches, Kazuki nodded, "Thanks mother!" Quickly jamming his feet into his sandals, he rushed out the door, where Sasuke was waiting.

"Hurry up!"

Kazuki grumped, "Yeah, yeah. Here's your lunch." Handing over the package, Kazuki queried, "I thought you didn't like Naruto."

Sasuke refused to meet his gaze, "I don't."

"Why do you want to walk to school with us then?"

A wicked grin grew on Kazuki's face, and he sidled up close to Sasuke, "Didn't you used to walk with Ino?"

Sasuke jumped back, sputtering, "Since when?"

Kazuki tapped his chin, pretending to think, "Hmm – I thought I saw you walking home with her and a couple of girls the other day."

Sasuke huffed and picked up the pace. "They were following me," he mumbled.

Kazuki relented with a grin, "Well, I usually meet up with Chouji over there."

Sure enough, Sasuke could see Chouji waving under a utility pole. Kazuki jogged over, "Hey Chouji, Sasuke wanted to join us today." As Chouji greeted Sasuke, Kazuki looked around, "Where's Naruto?"

Chouji shrugged, "I think he's still skipping school."

"Che."

Kazuki shot Sasuke an exasperated glare. He was getting a little worried; he didn't really remember if Naruto had skipped school for as many days before.

Sasuke stomped ahead, "We're going to be late." With a sigh, Kazuki followed with Chouji close behind.

*

Iruka scanned the classroom, "Has anyone seen Naruto-kun?"

In front of him, Hibachi spoke up eagerly, "Nope, didn't see him." Kazuki frowned. This felt vaguely familiar. He also didn't like the self-satisfied grin Hibachi was sporting. He and Naruto were always engaged in some form of prank war. Naruto also had the self-preservation instincts of a fly – somewhat like his brother.  _Or brothers._

 _Seriously, who accepts an ANBU invitation when he's ten years old?_ He supposed he was still a  _little_  bitter that his timeline had been cut short.

As Iruka continued to press the class, Kazuki pondered. Knowing Naruto's inclination for hell-raising, where was the worst place he could be?

Frowning, he suddenly remembered his father's complaints at dinner the night before. Apparently, there had been a jurisdictional dispute between the Uchiha police and a local chuunin team over reports of foreign ninjas in the back hills.  _Shoot._

The back hills were relatively close to the Academy. Given Naruto's luck and instincts, he wouldn't be surprised if Naruto was headed there at that moment. Watching Hibachi whisper and snicker maliciously, Kazuki decided to take a gamble and stood, "Iruka-sensei, Naruto's in the back hills."

Judging by the shocked looks on Hibachi's friends, his guess had been spot on. Turning around, the boy asked angrily, "What are you doing?"

He ignored Hibachi and watched worriedly as Iruka declared a study hall and rushed out the classroom. Vaguely, he could now remember the incident as the first time he had done something for Naruto. From what he could recall, Iruka had been able to safely retrieve Naruto.  _Still…_

*

Naruto inched towards the nest.  _FOODFOODFOODFOOD Eh? What's that?_ Inside the nest, a kunai glinted in the sunlight. He picked it out. The kunai was shaped differently and had two prongs instead of just one. Shrugging he tucked it into his pocket. It was different than the others.  _That should be good enough for baka Hibachi._

Inching forward a little further, he grabbed one egg from the nest.  _Hmm, would one egg be enough?_

He shook his head.  _Might as well take the whole nest._

Placing the egg back in the nest, he snagged the nest and cradled it against his chest. Once he was sure the eggs wouldn't spill out, he jumped off the tree. Grinning with glee, he turned around to see three shinobi watching him.

"AIEEEEE!" Startled, he chucked the nest of eggs at the shinobi. "WHO ARE YOU GUYS?!" he shouted and pointed wildly.

He took a step back at the sudden menace he sensed. "What did you take from the nest?" one of the shinobis demanded as another one checked the ground where the nest had fallen.

Eyes widening, he took another step back towards the bushes behind him. The third shinobi stepped forward, "Give it here!"

He wasn’t the most attentive in class, but even he knew that their insignias on their forehead protectors marked them as foreign shinobi.

Eyes darting around, Naruto came to a decision.

"OIROKE NO JUTSU!" He blew a kiss at the strangers. However, instead of falling back like he expected, they introduced him to the sharp edge of a kodachi.

Dispersing the technique, he scrambled back. The trio laughed, "That won't work on us." Almost in sync, they ripped off their masks.

"YOU'RE ALL GIRLS?!" Naruto's eyes widened just as a hail of shuriken rained down. Hollow thunks rang through the air

"Kawamiri?"

Naruto gasped as quietly as he could and scrambled hastily the bushes. Thanks to playing with Kazuki and Chouji, he suspected his stealth and kawamiri skills had never been better. Still, hearing the shouts approach, that wouldn't mean anything if the enemy caught him. Hastily, he threw a few noisemakers behind him. He cursed; he had planned to surprise Kazuki with those. The expression on Kazuki's face would have been priceless.

He sped up and crashed through an area he knew was rife with traps when he heard his voice being called.  _Iruka-sensei?_

"Sensei!" he called out and skidded to a stop as Iruka landed in front of him.

"Naruto, hurry and return to the academy!"

Naruto growled, "I know!" But before he could say anything else, Iruka shoved him aside with a hand to the chest and leapt away. For a second, Naruto felt betrayed until he saw the shuriken littering the ground where he had just been standing. He looked up in time to see Iruka addressing the three women who had attacked him, "What are you outsiders doing sneaking around the Leaf Village?"

Instead of answering, the leader replied imperiously, "Who are you? Leave that kid with us and don't put up a fight!"

Getting up to his feet, Naruto stared fearfully at Iruka. Would the man leave him? He still remembered the man's cold stare from the night when the man had caught him in the midst of a prank.

"I'm in charge of this child. I can't do that," Iruka replied defiantly. Without looking over, he gestured impatiently at Naruto.

Stunned, Naruto obediently inched his way behind Iruka.

Beside the leader, the brunette sneered, "What? You're a teacher?" On the other side, the other shinobi chimed in with a dismissive drawl, "It must be tough having such a bad student. Because of that, you're going to die."

Naruto snarled and started forward, "YOU DUMB TURDS ooomph-" Holding Naruto's head against his chest, Iruka retorted, "It's the bad ones that you get attached to. Besides, you won't be able to defeat me so easily." Despite Naruto's flailing, Iruka flung Naruto over his shoulder and threw down a smoke bomb.

Naruto gasped for breath as Iruka's shoulder dug into his rib cage. Behind him, he could see the angry kunoichi approach, "WATCH OUT!"

He closed his eyes and clung to Iruka's flack jacket at the sight of another incoming wave of shuriken. He heard an attacker scream, "DIE!", and felt Iruka swing around. There was the clash of metal, and then he heard Iruka's steadfast reply, "I will protect him, no matter what it takes!" Naruto felt Iruka's arm tighten around his legs just before whipping around to kick the kunoichi away. _Iruka-sensei, why…?_

Naruto heard the kunoichi shout again and raised his head just in time to see another hail of shuriken. He tried to pound his fist on Iruka's back in warning but suddenly found himself tucked in Iruka's arms just as he heard an explosion pound out from behind him.

He felt them hit the ground and roll several times. Iruka grunted and unfolded himself from his protective curl around Naruto. Before Naruto could protest, Iruka had grabbed him by the stomach and was bounding forwards again.

From his position facing the back, Naruto could see that several shuriken had hit Iruka in the back and arms. Without meaning too, his felt his lips move. "Sensei…?"

For a moment, he thought Iruka wouldn't reply, but then Iruka started speaking in a tight voice. "…My parents... After they died, there was nobody to compliment or acknowledge me. I always acted like an idiot, just to get people's attention since I wasn't good at stuff like studying or doing homework. It was better than being nothing, so I kept acting like an idiot."

_He was… like me?_

Iruka's voice wavered, "… It was so painful. Naruto, you also must have been in a lot of pain. I'm sorry. If only I had done a better job, we wouldn't be out here like this."

Confused, Naruto asked, "Why… that night… why did you look at me like that?"

He heard Iruka haltingly answered, "You … remind me of them… You were born on the same night as they died. It wasn't your fault, I-" Iruka broke off as a masked man with silver hair came into view. He set Naruto down, "Kakashi-san?" Naruto turned around.  _Another masked shinobi?! He looks weird… and creepy._

"I heard the explosion. Go on, I've got this, other patrols will probably be headed this way."

Naruto saw Iruka give Kakashi an evaluative look before nodding, "Thank you! Be safe."

 _Not again_. Without a word, Naruto once again found himself being hefted by the stomach, being toted through the forest. At least this time, he was facing forwards. "Iruuuukaaaa…" he complained.

"Just hold on."

Naruto groaned. Was it possible to get motion sickness from being carried like a sack of rice?

Soon enough, he could see the Academy. After he squirmed, Iruka set Naruto down. This time, the jostling caused the kunai Naruto had hidden away to fall out. Iruka picked it up and examined it. Naruto frowned, "Hey, that's mine!"

Without warning, Iruka hid the kunai and shouted, "YOU IDIOT!"

Naruto shrieked in surprise.

"You almost lost your life today!"

Chastened, Naruto mumbled, "That's true, but…" He felt Iruka staring at him.

"Hm? You're awfully quiet today."

Peeking up, Naruto replied, "That's because this is the first time you've yelled at… me. I'm surprised."

"Oh… I see." Iruka grinned, "That's because I decided that I would be upfront with you. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to be strict with you!"

Naruto recalled Iruka throwing chalk at Kazuki and yelling at Chouji to put his snacks away. "Whaaaat?! That makes me want to go to the Academy even less…"

"Naruto-kun… Do you have the Will of Fire in you?"

Naruto looked up and squinted at his teacher, who looked like he was still leaking blood everywhere. "Will of Fire? What's that?"

"It's the strong will to protect this village. If you have it, you can become as strong as the Hokage."

"The Hokage? Is the Hokage that strong?"

"Yeah. He's not just strong, either." Iruka looked back toward the tree line, "Everyone in the village respects the Hokage. He's our leader. The Fourth Hokage was a hero who protected the village from the demon fox."

"A hero?" Despite Kazuki's apparent apathy and Chouji's obsession with food, he sometimes wondered if they ever regretted their decision to hang out with him. If he was a hero, he could get more kids to play with them. No food stand would ever turn them away just because he was there.

"Alright, I've made up my mind! I'm going to become a Hokage who's stronger than the Fourth! I'm going to make everyone acknowledge my strength!"

Iruka smiled and looked as if he was about to say something when he looked up. "Kazuki-kun, Chouji-kun, shouldn't you be in study hall right now?"

Naruto turned around to see Kazuki and Chouji jogging up. Aside from the deer incident, Naruto had never seen Kazuki so disturbed, "Sensei, shouldn't you be seeing a medic right now?" He returned his attention to Iruka's appearance.  _I guess Iruka-sensei does look pretty bad_.

Iruka winced and nodded. "It's not as bad as it looks. Tell you what, if you guys take Naruto back with you, I'll go to the hospital."

Chouji nodded quickly with wide eyes while Kazuki frowned, eyes fixated on Iruka's cuts and bruised face.

*

"What! You should know well what kind of day tomorrow is right?" Sasuke stirred at the muffled shout. Curious, he crept out of his bed and down the hall.

"You don't understand your position." Stopping in front of the door, Sasuke peered through a crack. He could see that his Itachi was facing away from him, towards his parents, who were also in seiza. His father seemed upset with his arms crossed, while his mother had her hands in her lap. They were all sitting in the dark.  _When did nii-san get back?_

"I have a mission tomorrow." Sasuke frowned.  _Another one?_

"What mission?" his father interrogated.

"I can't say. It's a classified mission."

Sasuke saw his mother shoot his father a concerned look that was ignored, "Itachi, you're the backbone that connects this family to the village. You have to be a useful connection. You understand that right?"

"Yes."

His father huffed, "Impress them well and then come to tomorrow's meeting"

"Sasuke, go to the bathroom and quickly go to sleep."

He stifled his gasped even as he noted the surprised expression on his parents faces. How had his brother known he was there?

Guiltily, he slid open the door, "Oo, okay."

His father's voice followed him as he left, "Loitering around this late at night. Hurry up and sleep!"

*

"Shisui, I know we haven't spoken in a while, but we can't stay long," Itachi greeted as he joined his friend on the cliff overlooking the Naka River, "I'm expected at the clan meeting tonight." To his consternation, Shisui gave no indication he had heard Itachi's words. Itachi began to feel uneasy.

Since they were both under heavy scrutiny, face to face encounters for them were rare. It was unlike Shisui to dawdle. Studying Shisui's from the back, Itachi was disturbed by lack of tension in Shisui's frame.

Still facing away from Itachi, Shisui finally spoke, "There is no way to stop the Uchiha's coup d'etat anymore. A civil war will erupt in the leaf, and other countries won't hesitate to take the opportunity to attack. It will turn into a war." Shisui turned slightly, revealing a closed right eye with flakes of blood trailing down his cheek.

Itachi's brows drew together as he stared with concern. From the color of the blood, the injury looked at least several days old. It was unlike Shisui to be so careless as to leave an injury unattended.

"When I tried to stop the coup d'etat by using Kotoamatsukami, Danzou stole my right eye. He didn't trust me."

Itachi recalled Danzou's bandaged face; the right half of his face had been bandaged. Was there a connection? Had Danzou been making preparations for war even before his report had been given? Had they ever had a chance?

Itachi watched in horror as Shisui raised his hand to his remaining eye, "I tried to protect the village my own way, but he'll probably try to get my left eye as well. I'll give it to you before that happens." Itachi refused to look away.

Without a sound of discomfort, Shisui turned to fully face Itachi, outstretching a bloody fist. His eyes were now closed. Blood stained both sides of his face. "…You're my best friend, the only one I can ask this."

_No, not you too._

"Please protect the village – and the Uchiha name."

Itachi stared at Shisui's smile. Part of him felt betrayed. Protecting the clan and village had been a personal mission that had led him to Shisui – his mentor, friend, and brother. He supposed some part of him had expected that they would finish the mission together.

Shisui opened his fist. The blood on his fingers darkened to black. Inky stains jumped and hovered above the open palm, swirling together to morph into a crow, which hopped onto Itachi's shoulder. From the corner of his eye, Itachi could see Shisui's sharingan spinning in place of the crow's eye.

"Be wary of Danzo. He was too prepared for mine to be the first sharingan he stole. From the bandages he's added, I wouldn't be surprised if he was preparing himself for more additions."

Itachi swallowed his disbelief. He was surprised his voice held no inflection when he answered Shisui, "I will."

Despite that, it was almost as if Shisui could still see the frown on Itachi's face, "I'm sorry. I had meant to help shoulder some of your burden, and instead, I added to it."

Itachi shook his head in denial, but Shisui continued, "Without my eyes, I will have to disappear tonight, before someone notices."

Shoving his emotions to the side, Itachi offered, "I can– "

"No. You'll be doing enough as it is." Shisui rejected, "I'll take care of everything on my end." He tapped his nose with his right index finger. "Don't worry about me."

 _I don't understand_.

"Go."

Itachi bowed, "Ki o tsukete (Be careful)." Without a backwards look, he left. Judging by the darkening sky, he wasn't going to make the meeting. It'd be for the best anyway.

Shisui had more plans that he hadn't disclosed. Itachi was almost sure of it. But this time, he wasn't sure that he'd be able to follow Shisui's intentions beyond face value. They had worked together for years using fewer words than most because of their ability to read and predict one another's intentions. This came in especially useful when Itachi became a double agent.

This time, though, Itachi wasn't sure how he could support Shisui's next plans when he had no idea what they could be, especially since Shisui was now missing both of his eyes.

*

The next day, Itachi woke up late. After breakfast, he joined Sasuke on the steps overlooking the courtyard.

"Dad's always going on about you all the time."

He smiled at the jealousy in his brother's voice. Tilting his head back, he asked playfully, "Am I …unpleasant?"

He sensed his brother tense. His brother was just too easy to tease. If the clan didn't stop, he would have to use that for Sasuke's sake. He hated himself for that thought, "That's not so bad. Shinobi usually live as hated people, because they're said to be a problem."

Visibly shocked at his words, Sasuke immediately protested, "That's… that's not…"

 _Poor boy_. He laughed, "Heh. To be top-notch is something to really think about." He heard Kazuki approach behind them and continued thoughtfully, "To have strength, means you become isolated and arrogant."

"Although at first, you only sought for what you dreamed…" He remembered when he and Shisui had dreamed of peace, of preventing a fourth world war with their own power.

He wanted to scoff at his former self.

If he was given the order, if he could save his brothers, he would still need to save the clan's name. He thought of Sasuke, who always sought to surpass him, to find his own measure, "Well… we're just unique siblings. To overcome your barriers, you and I have to continue living together."

He smiled at Sasuke as he thought of his brother's perpetual pursuit of him. This pursuit could easily be changed to a different nature, "Even if it means hating each other. That's what being an elder brother means."

"That's bull crap."

Itachi looked back with surprise to see Kazuki's storming off. It was rare to see Kazuki truly upset by anything. However, before he could follow, the main door slammed open, "IS ITACHI HERE? COME OUT NOW! WE NEED TO TALK."

He rose and walked to the main door to find himself confronted with three familiar clan members: Yashiro, Tekka, and Inabi. Had his attendance at last night's meeting been _that_ missed? The three all looked enraged. Measuredly, he asked, "What is it?"

Inabi growled, "We had two men missing at last night's meeting. Why weren't you there?"  _Did Shisui also skip_?  _Had he needed serious treatment for his injuries?_

Itachi kept silent, certain there was more. The men looked as if they were waiting for Itachi to incriminate himself.

Inabi glared through his black bangs, "I can understand that you've been occupied with various missions since you joined ANBU. Your father also told us that, and he's looking over you. However…"

"…we have no intent of treating you any differently," Yashiro finished.

Itachi sensed Sasuke watching the proceedings from behind him.  _He should be kept out of this._ To appease them, Itachi replied deferentially, "I understand. I'll be more careful from now on. Please leave."

As they turned to leave, Yashiro paused, "Yeah, but before we do. There's one more thing you need to answer."

He waited for them to cut to the chase.

"It's about the suicide by drowning in the Naka River last night … of Uchiha Shisui."

 _Suicide?_  Itachi narrowed his eyes.

Inabi took over the conversation, "The other man that didn't show last night was Shisui. I thought you considered Shisui as a true brother."

Itachi wished they would leave. He needed to confirm this, he … they were studying his face as if he was a mouse in a lab. He needed to answer. "I see…," he managed. "I haven't met with him recently. That is sad to hear."

Inabi pressed, "…so, we, the police force, have decided to investigate this incident fully."

Had there been any expectation of them to do otherwise? Irritation prickled the edges of his detachment, "An investigation?"

Yashiro rummaged in his bag and held out a folded piece of paper, "This is Shisui's suicide note. We already finished the analysis on the handwriting - it's definitely his."

Itachi shoved away his impatience at his visitors' roundabout manner, "If it's suicide, what's left to investigate?"

Inabi stared intently at him, "For those with the sharingan, it's quite easy to forge someone's handwriting."

Itachi reached for the paper slip as Yashiro added unnecessarily, "It's written on this slip of paper. The following is his suicide note." Itachi read the note.

**I'm tired of the duties. There is no future for Uchiha and for me. I cannot walk out the 'path' any further.**

_The path…_

That wording.

The note was real? It wasn't a test of his allegiances?

_Was this what you meant when you said you'd take care of everything?_

Shisui really had left him.

He felt the warmth in his body bleed away.

All the times others looked at him and only saw the potential for their ambitions; he had done the same with Shisui. He had read too much into Shisui's last words to him and now he was gone.

 _Ki o tsukete._ Had those really been his last words to Shisui?

Yashiro continued to talk, "He was feared as Shisui of the Mirage and one of the most talented Uchiha. He was someone who'd do any mission for the clan." 

_You never knew him._

Inabi added suggestively while staring at Itachi, "I doubt a man like him would leave something like this behind and die."

He breathed.  _Inhale._

 _Shisui, this is what we sought to protect?_ Their heavy handedness disgusted him.  _Inhale._ Finally, he spoke, releasing a hint of his impatience, "It's not wise to judge others by their appearances and your preconceptions."  _As I have done._

Undeterred, Inabi replied, "I'm going to leave that will to you. Take that to ANBU and ask that they investigate as well."

Was that a request?  _Exhale_. Itachi studied their expressions for a moment, "Understood."

They turn around to leave, but Yashiro paused, "I certainly hope there will be other evidence."

Tekka replied with a raised voice, "As the police force, we have other connections to the ANBU as well. If you try to hide anything, we'll know right away."

Itachi stared at the ground.  _Exhale._

"Why don't you be more direct?" He activated his sharingan and felt its familiar burn. Raising his head, he was distantly aware of the three pairs of sharingan that met his challenge, "So, you are suspicious of me?"

"Yes, Brat," Inabi spat as Yashiro threatened, "Listen, Itachi. If you betray the clan, you won't escape unpunished." 

_They've had their doubts._

_Shisui… **shall we confirm them?**_

He  _moved._

Barefoot, he straightened from his attacking slouch. He stood at the center of the men, who he had scattered into the street. As they groaned from where they lay, he spoke, "As I've said just now, don't judge others simply by your preconceptions and judgments of their appearance."

_Shisui…_

"You assumed that I have patience."

…  _did we have too much patience for them?_

"The clan, the clan. You all fail to measure your own capacity and to see the depth of my capacity. As a result you lie beaten here."

Shaking, Yashiro managed to sit up, "Shisui was told to keep an eye on you. Within half a year of your entrance into ANBU, your actions and speech were getting stranger than ever. What exactly are you thinking?!"

_Shisui gave his eye for you._

_For me._

Danzou hadn't started his preparations too early. They'd been too late.

His disgust spilled over, "You hold onto the organization, your clan, your name."  _This pride…_

"These things limit us and limit our capacities. These things deserve to be shunned. It is foolish to fear what we've yet to see and know!" _…Shisui, was peace only a dream?_

"Stop Itachi!"

His father, when had he arrived?

He didn't want to see him.

"Stop it already, what in the world is wrong?" He could feel his father study the situation, "Itachi, lately, you've been acting strange."

 _You as well, father?_ “Nothing's strange. I'm just carrying out my duty."  _…for the village, I must…_

"Then, why did you not come last night."

Why was it always about the clan? "…In order to reach the height…"

His father didn't understand. "The what?"

He knew that now. With detached antipathy, he flung a kunai into the center of one of the decorative clan symbols adorning on the compound walls. "…of my capacity…"

_Shisui. I see now. That note was meant for me to fold._

_Very well._

_I fold._ The vitriol spewed out as he watched the men recover, "…I've lost all hope for this pathetic clan. You forget what is most important to you because you cling to something small like your clan. True change cannot be made if it is bound by laws and limitations, predications and imagination."

His father admonished him and helped Yashiro to his feet, "What arrogance! Enough already! If you continue this nonsense, we will have to take you to jail."

His father stood, facing him with the other men in a unified front, "So what now?"

To his father's right, Inabi growled, "We can't put up with you anymore! Captain, please order an arrest."

"STOP, BROTHER!"

Itachi flinched.

 _Sasuke_.

He had forgotten his brother was watching. The realization jarred him into the present, cracking the detachment that had frozen him over.

He dropped to his knees, released his sharingan, and pressed his forehead to the ground, "It was not me who has killed Shisui. But for the words I have spoken, I am deeply sorry."  _I'm sorry you saw this Sasuke._

From above his bowed position, he could hear his father excuse him, "Lately, he has been busy with missions from the ANBU; he's been worn out."

_And I'm sorry you will have to see much worse._

"Captain!" protested Inabi with a bitter note in his voice.

"The ANBU is a battalion under the Hokage's direct authority. Even we, police, cannot arrest them without an official order. Besides, I will look over my son with full responsibility. Please," entreated Fugaku. The tense silence grew as the visitors stared at Fugaku.

_Please protect the village – and the Uchiha name._

Inabi grudgingly relented. "Understood sir."

"Itachi, let's go back inside."

_I'll complete your final mission._

*

There had been no underlying message behind Shisui's words that day. The Uchiha coup d'etat was happening and Danzou would move, with or without him.

He dropped another kunai into the pile of sharpened weapons. After the morning's confrontation, his father had ordered him out of the house with the task of sharpening the kunai in the armory. The repetitive motions of the task helped to drop him into the mindset he needed for ANBU missions.

The key to the whole operation relied on preserving the Uchiha's reputation. That was most likely the reason Danzou had approached him. It was in everyone's best interest. News of the Uchiha seeking revolution would have almost the same destabilizing effects as an actual revolution.

The cleanest solution was to have a member of the clan deal the eradicating move. People would speculate, but suspicions would be focused on the internal conflicts of the Uchiha instead of the external.

Everything – every hint, every clue, every nuance – had to fall on him. Only he could be suspected of acting against his clan

Finished with the armory, he headed toward the training grounds. He needed more time to gather his thoughts and prepare his next steps. He would have to build a persona strong enough that no reproach could fall on his clan. Once he was home, there would be no respite.

He gazed at the trees lining both sides of the path. Once he was done, there could be no return. He could feel himself closing himself. Crystal by crystal, the ice cracked by Sasuke was repairing itself. There could be no room for error.  _No room for emotion_.

Exterminating his whole clan without outside detection meant every single member of the clan would need to be located. With civilians involved, the attack had to be on compound grounds. The remote location worked in his favor, but he would have to coordinate with Danzou to ensure that there would be no surprise visits from friends outside the clan. No missions could be assigned to the few Uchiha shinobi outside of the police force either.

They hadn't received many missions outside of the village lately anyway.

The civilians for the most part wouldn't be an issue as long as he attacked around dinner time. The police force would be more difficult to gather. However, as talks of revolution had grown, the clan elders had ordered police patrols to be drawn closer to the compound, in hopes that their presence would be missed by the village– and so properly appreciated. If he waited, he was certain that the patrols would be fully withdrawn. After all, the clan would need a rested fighting force for a revolution.

He rubbed his eyes. As clan head heir, he had access to the clan registers. He would need those lists to personally confirm the whole clan had been herded into the compound confines on the day of the attack. However, he knew how long those lists were.

He felt the sting in his eyes grow into a dull throbbing. He would most likely have an hour, maybe two. No matter how fast he moved, he would only be able to cover a fourth of the grounds – a third if he pushed himself and a half if he was reckless.

He would need help. He needed someone who could replicate the Uchiha fighting styles and was skilled enough to leave no trace of their presence behind.

But the help had to be familiar with Uchiha attacks. The style had to be distinctive. Otherwise, ANBU investigations would destroy all of his efforts.

He also needed to consider the twins. Mother had often complained about the two being late for dinner. Apparently, he and his father had set a bad example. If he carried out the attack in the early evening, the two would perhaps avoid the worst of the sights. But there would be no way of sparing them the horror of seeing everyone dead. There just wasn't enough time.

Perhaps it would be better that way. He still remembered the way the blood had cooled beneath his knees that summer day – months before the war had ended. Those sights had taught him about the necessity of peace and the duties of a shinobi.

Those concepts had been necessary for his survival and now for his brothers'. He remembered the promise he made the night he first met his brothers.  _I'll protect the both of you. No matter what._

The two would be lost after the attack. He would be ripping everything they had ever known from them. Both would need time to recover- time they didn't have. Public interest and pity would protect the boys for several years after the attack. However, as orphans of a clan with a famous bloodline limit, they would be susceptible to power-hungry predators like Danzou. The Hokage would do his best – especially if he made it his last request. However, the Hokage wasn't omniscient. The boys needed to be able to protect themselves. They would need to push themselves.

Sasuke would be easy to guide. The boy had always been at his heels. It would only take a nudge from him to turn that competitive chase into a chase for vengeance. Nausea erupted so quickly that he abruptly found himself coughing up bile next to a tree.

He must have forgotten to eat. Kicking up dirt to hide the mess, he made his way across a giant oak that had fallen across a small stream. He sat down and let both of his legs hang over the side of the trunk. Tilting his head up he could see that the sky was just beginning to change colors. He was able to make out a few wisps of clouds, drifting lazily by.

Barking. He turned his head to the left when he saw the object of his thoughts appear. What was he doing here?

"Thanks Kiba-san! I'll see you at the Academy!"

He watched as Kazuki made his way to the edge of the bank, "Kazuki, were you planning to train?"

Kazuki grunted as he climbed up the tree trunk with an annoyed expression, "Hell no." Finally perched on the trunk, he tossed a tied piece of cloth at Itachi, "Here."

As Kazuki carefully made his way across the fallen tree, Itachi untied the cloth.  _My pillowcase_?

With a thump, Kazuki sat down beside him, "Yeah, I went into your room. I needed something with your scent." He barely covered a yawn before continuing with an unconvincing apology, "Sorry."

He managed a smile, "What are you doing here?"

Blinking away tears, Kazuki mumbled, "Oh right, here." He pawed at his vest pocket and held out another bundle.

Itachi took the bundle and unwrapped it. Inside were leaf fronds wrapped around what appeared to be misshapen onigiri.

"I made it, so be careful."

Itachi stared at the food.

"Relax, I was joking. Mother made it – I just squished it on the way here." Kazuki paused. "You ok? Your eyes look a little irritated."

Truth be told, they were paining him a little bit more than usual. The pain hadn't left since that morning and he suspected he knew the reason why. He wondered if Shisui had hoped to give him another 'gift' with his suicide. He nodded, "I'm fine. Just overused my sharingan during training."

To his surprise, Kazuki didn't look assuaged by his attempt at a reassuring smile, "Sasuke told me what happened." Itachi looked down and studied the trickling stream below.

"Sorry about your friend. Those guys were dickless asses."

Startled, Itachi laughed. This couldn't happen. Despite himself, he asked "Where'd you learn those words?"

Kazuki shrugged, "Naruto."

Wasn't that the Kyuubi boy? He recalled Danzou's complaints. So this was why the boy had been lingering around the Uchiha compound.

"You too?"

He turned to see Kazuki studying him with some amounts of surprise and dismay.

He gave Kazuki a questioning look. Kazuki frowned. Itachi returned the boy's scrutiny.

With the exception of that month when the boy had been hospitalized, Kazuki had always been much easier to look after. Unlike Sasuke, who he often had to restrain or distract with silly tasks, Kazuki had usually been sleeping- or mumbling complaints. Occasionally, he would surprise Itachi with flashes of insight, but it had been awhile since he had interacted with Kazuki.

Kazuki sighed and leaned his head back, "Did you know? Stores tend to close early when Chouji and I hang out with Naruto."

Stretching, he kept his tone conversational as he continued, "The villagers and many of shinobi adults aren't exactly subtle." He returned his gaze to Itachi and smiled wryly, "Father wasn't really happy about me hanging out with Naruto either, but you've kept him too distracted for him to notice – so thanks."

Itachi kept his face expressionless.

"The thing about Naruto is… he hasn't really done anything – I asked. You'd think he'd be related to a criminal or something. Except, I remember the history lessons Dad used to give us. I had almost forgotten, but Naruto has the same last name as the Shodaime's wife – Mito Uzumaki. And this is where it gets to be a pain. According to the legends, she was a vessel for the Kyuubi. The same Kyuubi who died on Naruto's birthday."

Even though the Third's law could arguably be said not to be applicable for Kazuki, Itachi noted that, with his careful wording, Kazuki technically wouldn't have broken the edict anyway.

Despite his suspicions, Itachi was still a little startled at the connections Kazuki had been able to make. He wasn't sure whether or not to be dismayed or relieved. This kind of thinking would only attract attention, but it would also be the boy's greatest weapon. Additionally, the strength of the weapon didn't matter if the user didn't have the constitution to use it, and Kazuki had always tired far too easily – especially for an Uchiha.

"I know you were too young to fight against the Kyuubi, so what do you have against Naruto?"

Itachi noted the apprehension in Kazuki's voice. He was surprised that Kazuki, who had always hated confrontation, was making this effort. Come to think of it, the boy had always risked Sasuke's temper to adjust Sasuke's stances.

There was something here he could...use.

But first, he needed to reply. He couldn't exactly tell Kazuki about how the Uchiha were suspected of controlling the Kyuubi, "I have nothing against the boy, but I've seen his… art. I was just thinking of father's reaction to you associating with a troublemaker."

"Oh." Kazuki winced. "Sorry about that then. Anyway," Kazuki peered at him, "you sure you’re ok?"

Itachi gave him a faint smile, "Yeah. Go on, head on back. I'll be fine."

Kazuki pursed his lips and gave him a doubtful look. Itachi waved his hand in a shooing motion.

Kazuki rolled his eyes, stood up, and sauntered away.

He had found it.

Sasuke was competitive, while Kazuki was loyal.

Sasuke could be jealous, while Kazuki could be defensive.

Sasuke would attack to avenge the clan, while Kazuki would attack to protect Sasuke.

He would kill the clan and they would kill him. He smiled absently as the last of the cracks disappeared.

_Thank you Kazuki._

*

Kazuki watched the sky fade into an angry red as the sun set over the treetops.

Dinner had been a tense affair. Both of his parents had been distracted and his father had often stared off into space with a disturbed expression. When he had asked, Sasuke quietly told him about Itachi's odd behavior that morning that he had missed.

Before he could realize the potential folly of his actions, he had already convinced Kiba to help him find Itachi. As much as he tried to deny it, he knew he had become attached to his oldest brother.

He suspected he had caught Itachi at a vulnerable moment, but it hadn't been too difficult to read certain things from the boy.

_Even if it means hating each other. That's what being an elder brother means._

He had seen that expression before, on the faces of the other members of the Rookie 9 as they came to the decision to take out Sasuke. It was an expression of resolve to act on an hated decision.

His time was running out. He had stormed off that morning, angry at himself for missing the signs. Angry and scared, because he didn't know what he was doing. He wasn't sure if he was making things worse. He had already made things worse with Iruka and Naruto; Iruka had never returned covered in blood in his memories.

He found himself missing the guidance of his old man as he left the training grounds.

He sighed. There was no way to back out of this troublesome situation. There was no way around it. He went off the path and crouched with his back against a tree.

He spread his fingers, as if grasping a large object, and held his fingertips against one another with his thumbs on top. Taking a deep breath, he thought of what he hadn't wanted to consider.

If an order to kill had been given, he would need to step up all of his preparations. With the exception of the stasis pills, none of his plans were at the stage for execution. His top priority would have to be to stall, to buy more time for the rest of his plans. That meant he needed to push for the Akimichi-Uchiha festival he had been joking with Chouji about. Planning the festival could also draw more clan members out of the compound – or more Akimichi members into the compound.

He knew he was taking a risk, but it was the most feasible plan he had at this stage.

Listening to the rumors and watching his clan members train, he had a creeping suspicion that his earlier plans of mitigation were going to be obsolete. Considering how often Itachi wasn't at home, Kazuki was certain that Itachi's ANBU experience was extensive. If Itachi struck, it would be decisive. There would be little chance for the stasis pills to be used.

His only option was to stall. If even his old man had believed that one teenager took down an entire clan, then Itachi would need a relatively large window of time. He would have to ensure that window of time never appeared. If he could improve Uchiha-village relations during that time, then perhaps he could prevent the massacre.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> didn't realize until I wrote this chapter, but Itachi kinda followed in Shisui's footsteps: leaving a crap ton of problems for the next generation and dying with their younger brother (of sorts) being the last thing that they saw. I'm not saying that they didn't try their best or that their efforts weren't amazing, but still.


	4. Lengthening Shadows

Under the shadows cast by the morning sun, Itachi set out for the Naka shrine. After his outburst, he doubted the clan still met there, which made it the ideal place for him to plan – especially since he needed access to the stone monument.

During his last visit with Danzou, through discussing the necessary arrangements in ROOT patrols for the night of the massacre, he had been able to confirm his suspicions that Danzou didn't have an Uchiha ROOT member – or any member capable of carrying out the nuances needed for the attack.

From that observation, he suspected that Danzou expected him to fail.

The timing of the operation was going to have to be ridiculously precise to avoid any suspicions arising after the fact. The Hokage could only do so much, which meant half an hour was the largest window he could reliably operate under. No matter how much of a genius he was, it was still one person against 579 clan members. If he considered the use of Kage Buunshins and used the extremely conservative estimate of 15 minutes to cover and search the entire compound, that meant a rough average of 39 kills per minute, approximately three kills every two seconds.

On paper, those numbers were difficult, but not impossible. Even factoring in the presence of Uchiha jounin, he would have the advantage of both surprise and the ability to focus on the attack, while his opponents would be distracted protecting civilians and one another. The numbers became unrealistic when he considered the showmanship that would have to be involved.

As far as anyone was concerned, he had no logical reason to kill his clan. The only explanation for his motive would have to be drawn from witness statements and the physical evidence left from the attack. The rampant speculation, guaranteed to run after such senseless killing, would seize upon any inconsistencies present in the evidence. If he wasn't careful, there was a chance he would escape the blame.

At first, he couldn't understand how Danzou could benefit from his failure. If he failed, the investigation and witness interviews following the attack would unveil the Uchiha's schemes for a coup. Emotions would run high and the village would be in upheaval. The Hokage would be forced to hand down execution notices. Shinobi comrades who had fought with Uchiha members would undoubtedly be up in arms, weakening the Sandaime's influence. It was also unlikely that the Sandaime would face the criticism alone.

But then he remembered Shisui's cautionary words on Danzou seeking the sharingan.

The Uchiha had never considered the use of seals, like the Hyuuga, to protect the secrets of their eyes. The very nature of their eyes was their seal.

Before Kakashi, the sharingan had never been successfully transplanted and used by a non-Uchiha for a number of reasons. The first reason was that few were compatible and had the strength to wield such a physically and mentally demanding dojutsu. The second, more critical reason, was that the sharingan could only be turned on and off by the emotions of an Uchiha. That meant that dead Uchiha would be just as useless as Uchiha who had never activated their sharingan.

In other words, a sharingan had to be activated before it could be transplanted. Once transplanted, it could never be turned off – only covered to reduce the chakra drain.

Itachi suspected that if he failed, the resulting chaos would provide enough cover for condemned traitors to 'disappear'. Danzou wouldn't even hesitate to take children, as evidenced by ROOT. And since the emotional reconditioning of ROOT would never work on Uchihas, Itachi didn't want to think about what those children would be subjected to in order to trigger the potential of their eyes.

He imagined that Danzou had only approached him because this approach was the cleanest way that Danzou could accomplish his plans.

As he arrived at the shrine, he wondered if, on the off chance he was able to wipe out the clan, Danzou was of the mentality that if he couldn't have the sharingan, no one could. While he suspected Koharu only saw the threat of a military coup, he wondered if Homura was aware of Danzou's potential ulterior motives.

Counting from the right, he made his way to the seventh tatami mat and lifted it to uncover the stairs.

Had Danzou considered that he might be wielding the Mangekyou sharingan? He didn't think it was likely; Shisui had been the only other known user – the only other person who could have taught him how to use it.

Walking down the dark hallway, he activated his sharingan. Now, he was left with the stone as his only source of guidance. If he could use it to teach himself Amaterasu, his chances of pulling off the mission would significantly increase. If anything, there might even be time to spare and hide a few of the civilian children. It would be difficult, but he had a few contacts outside of the village who owed him favors.

The whisper of cloth was so soft, he almost missed it. Quickly, he blended into the shadows.

 _Ssp_.

There it was again. This time, he heard a soft derisive chuckle emerge from the direction where the stone stood.

How had he missed someone's presence?

Disturbed, he quietly summoned a crow. With a quick modified henge, an inky black mouse appeared. Crouched in the shadows, he sent it toward the room with the stone tablet. From his summons' eyes, he spied a cloaked male figure crouched against the tablet.

A sense of unease struck him as he urged the mouse to creep further. He didn't recognize the man's profile, which suggested a stranger had somehow known about the clan's secret shrine.

As the mouse's perspective changed, he was able to make out a mane of wild jagged hair that partially obscured a mask. With an exception of a single hole for sight, the rest of the mask covered the man's entire fact. Wary, he watched as the man appeared to study the tablet.

 _Was he able to read the stone?_ He studied the man's apparent familiarity with the inscriptions with growing disbelief.

*

Kazuki lay face up on his bed. He stared at the ceiling and refused to move.

_I don't want to move._

_Or think._

_Or do anything._ Eyes half-lidded, he heaved a sigh. As much as he hated to admit it, he was out of time. He needed help, but as much as he had mentally accused Itachi of isolating himself, he knew the same could be said of him.

The whole premise of his plans (and whether or not he actually needed help) relied on his dreams and faint memories. At times, he still wasn't sure whether or not he just had a fanciful imagination. After all, he still needed the stepping stool to reach the kitchen sink.

If he didn't have his shadow techniques, he would have started to suspect that he was insane.

 _At least insanity would be easier to deal with_.

That indecisiveness to confide in someone had cost him. The situation was too volatile for him to take the time to convince someone to listen to him, never mind helping him. As soon as his foothold on the situation was stable, he decided, he'd confide in someone.

In the meantime, he needed to gather a few more pieces of information to complete his contingency plans.

He turned his head to look at the sealed scroll on his desk. He also needed to deliver the scroll to Chouji. After the talk with Itachi, he realized that he had forgotten to account for whether he wanted to leave any last words behind in the event of his own death during the massacre. The scroll was what he had finally decided upon after a long night.

"Kazuki, are you up yet?"

 _Ah crud._  Hurriedly, he closed his eyes just before Sasuke slammed open the door and entered at a run.

He heard the footfalls come to stop beside his bed. Without warning, he felt the sheets being pulled out from under him. He landed with a thud, tangled in sheets and blankets. "Urgh." He briefly debated the merits of fighting himself free of the covers, when –

Bright light assaulted him.

\- Sasuke would do that for him. He squinted at his brother's hovering face and unashamedly whined, "What the hell?"

"You ok? Have you been having more of those nightmares?"

Kazuki turned and burrowed his face back into the mess of covers, "Mm fine."

"Good, then you can hurry up – Father's waiting."

Kazuki unburied his head to glare up at Sasuke, "Wha?"

"He wants to meet us at the pond."

Kazuki stared at Sasuke's impatient face and immediately dropped his head with a groan.

*

Kazuki stared as his father breathed out fire. The fireball roared as it expanded, easily spanning ten times his father's height in diameter.

It would figure that the day after Itachi's outburst, his father would decide to show them the Uchiha's coming of age technique.

Part of him was reluctant to come any closer to the heat than necessary. On the other hand, his interest couldn't help but be peaked at the brightness of the fire. He hadn't missed how everyone's shadows had lengthened and darkened across the dock as the fireball burned.

"That's a basic Uchiha ninjutsu, Katon Goukakyuu no jutsu. You were taught the seals a while ago. To use it, you must draw chakra from your mouth into your chest and hold it there. Then, immediately blow it right out."

Kazuki suppressed his impulse to slouch.  _That was it?_

Before he could mull upon the instructions any further, Sasuke stepped up from beside him with a determined shout, "Ok!"

_Dammit, why is he always so eager? Now I'll be expected to perform it as well, such a pain._

He watched in anticipation as Sasuke flashed through the seals, took a giant breath, and …

…puffed out a fireball no larger than his head.

He kept silent as the fire fizzled out. He wasn't sure where Sasuke had made a mistake. He had never tried, or felt inclined to try, a fire jutsu. Intrigued, he wondered if his brother just hadn't held in the chakra long enough.

"Hmm, you haven't reached Itachi's level…"

Unaware of Sasuke's downcast look, his father turned to face him, "Kazuki?"

With a mental shrug, he stepped closer to the edge of the dock.  _Never thought I'd be doing this._

Flashing through the seals, he inhaled and held his breath, molding his chakra by instinct. Just before he felt like he was going to burst, he released his breath. Immediately he knew something had gone wrong as he felt something inside him _switch_. It felt like the moment after he threw a kunai and realized that he had released the weapon too late.

His fire streamed out much farther than Sasuke's. However, the flames were pure white. Instead of ballooning out into a giant fireball, a ball of black clouds grew at the end of stream. The cloud ballooned to almost the size of his father's fireball. Even after his fire disappeared, the cloud continued to persist. Dark flakes began to fall the cloud, dropping into the pond.

Feeling something bubble up, he quickly covered the inside of his hand with shadow just before the first coughs escaped. As he coughed into his hand, his father turned away, "Perhaps for you two, it was still too early."

He wasn't sure what had happened. He heard his father leave as he lifted his hand for inspection. Once he was sure the substance in his hand was cool enough to touch, he retracted the shadow back into his sleeve. Rubbing his fingers, it looked like he had coughed out some sort of abrasive black ash. He glanced back at the pond, where his cloud still persisted. Its shape had begun to transform into a column, rising towards the sky like a smoke signal.

The sudden heat and crackle of flames interrupted his contemplation. He turned around to see his brother blow out another fireball. He wouldn't be surprised if his brother stayed there for the rest of the day.

Overcome with curiosity, he settled into a low crouch at Sasuke's side. The second time he attempted the jutsu, he focused instead on the feel of the chakra changing inside his chest. Aiming downwards, toward the water, he focused on that 'switching' feeling and exhaled. This time, only black spewed out. He watched the stream hit the surface of the water, causing steam to erupt upon contact.

 _Fwoosh!_  "ARgh."

To his left, he saw that Sasuke's fireball looked no different than before, "At least you've got fire."

Sasuke looked over. The steam was dissipating, and he could see black specks dotting the water's surface.

"I'm just polluting the water."

Still frustrated, Sasuke grumbled, "At least your cloud was large."

Kazuki shot him a dry look. Rolling his eyes, Sasuke offered, "Does it feel like your lungs are burning when you hold your breath?"

At Kazuki's incredulous expression, Sasuke grinned with reluctant amusement, "Not like actual burning, more like… trying to breathe in the hot springs."

Seeing Kazuki's thoughtful look return, Sasuke returned to his practice in a lighter mood.

For the third attempt, Kazuki took a small breath. He didn't want to contaminate the waters any more than he already had. This time, as he held his breath, he recognized the sensation Sasuke had described.

Now that he knew what he was looking for, he realized that he had been instinctively trying release the flames like his shadows. He released his breath.

A small stream rushed forth. Sure enough, a fireball, the size of two fists, grew at the end of the stream. The color was still slightly off, but it was… close enough. He’d practice the jutsu later.

In the meantime though, he touched his lips with a wince, he needed to figure out the logistics of setting up a festival, "Sasuke, thanks for the advice. I'm gonna head back."

Sasuke acknowledged him with a wave.

Shaking his head at Sasuke's single-minded focus, Kazuki made his way back towards the house.

*

"I'll talk to your father ok?" Mikoto smiled at her youngest. She didn't know how successful she'd be. Planning and hosting a festival would be time intensive, and clan affairs had been taking up an increasing amount of Fugaku's time. All the same, this was a request from Kazuki.

It wasn't that she favored him over her other sons, but rather, he was the only one she felt she could still claim.

She cherished memories of those early days, when her sons were  _hers_. She had known it wouldn't last.

Itachi had always been able to see more than anyone else. Her clan, her village – everyone had recognized that. His ability to see the bigger picture meant she was quickly left wishing him a safe return. That boy had always been meant for great things.

It was an honor she had never wanted for him.

But it was one she now saw Sasuke chasing.

While other mothers commiserated on their children's lack of discipline, she smiled, and afterwards, restocked the medicine cabinet. Maybe it was a product of being raised in a traditional clan, but the boy had always listened to her cautions about training with half an ear. If only Sasuke knew his preference for his father was reciprocated by his father.

Kazuki had always been a bit of a surprise. They had never expected twins. When he was three, she had been seriously concerned that they were going to lose him. She suspected Fugaku had also been affected by that scare. Aside from acquiescing to her requests and allowing the boy his frequent naps, Fugaku had also been surprisingly tolerant of Kazuki's grades. Sometimes, she worried that they were being too indulgent of his indolence, that they would be crippling his ability to survive as a shinobi.

Still, he was young. There would be plenty of time to push him – time she had never secured for Itachi.

The clan and the village had called Itachi. Fugaku had Sasuke.

Kazuki was  _hers_.

She turned around with three lunchboxes and kneeled. Laughing at his unsatisfied scowl, she sought to distract him, "Aren't you headed to see Chouji-kun? Why don't you take this?"

He stared in confusion as he accepted the lunchboxes, "Why did you pack three?"

"Isn't Naruto-kun going to be there?" She ruffled his hair, smiling as he attempted to duck away.

"You cooked for him?"

She adjusted his collar as she answered, "Of course. I would have made two lunchboxes, but we were out of the larger containers." When he didn't respond, she looked up to study his face. Biting her lip, she took a guess, "The Akimichi's are known for their large appetites – and large bentos. The first time you asked me to pack you extra, I suspected it was for a friend. It wasn't too hard to figure out who it was for."

She waited patiently as her youngest hesitantly ventured, "But… father didn't want…"

She sighed and stood. Turning her back to Kazuki, she started cleaning up the dishes, "Your father's … afraid of Naruto-kun's pranks."

She felt Kazuki step to her side, "Really? Itachi said the same thing."

She smiled humorlessly at the doubt in his voice. Without really meaning to, she abruptly asked, "Did you know? Back when we had both been pregnant, Naruto's mother and I had thought that our kids were going to be the best of friends."

"Ehh?"

She paused and laughed at Kazuki's dubious expression, "Why do you sound so shocked?"

"Sasuke and Naruto get along like water and oil. Wait, you knew Naruto's mother?"

She shrugged noncommittally and resumed washing the dishes, "It was war and we were both pregnant."

She shouldn't have brought up Kushina.

To her relief, Kazuki changed the subject, "During the war – Did you have the sharingan?"

"Mmhmm."

"How did you learn how to use it?"

She dried her hands on her apron and led him towards the porch to sit. "My mother and my instructor both had the sharingan."

"So you didn't read anything about it?"

She joined him on the porch, "No, most everything is passed down orally." Seeing his interest and disappointed confusion, she elaborated, "Do you remember how the sharingan is activated?"

He nodded.

"On rare occasions, when we see something worse, our sharingan can evolve into what's called the Mangekyou sharingan."

"Worse?"

She brought an arm around Kazuki and drew him in to rest against her side, "Much, much worse. The Mangekyou is a powerful response developed to meet a horrible situation, which I don't ever want you in."

Feeling him nod against her, she continued, "Now, the reason we don't have much documentation on the sharingan is that different families within the clan have their own secrets about the Mangekyou sharingan."

"Do a lot of people have the Mangekyou?"

"No, but occasionally, one person in a family would develop the Mangekyou and discover a new aspect of its capabilities. I know it sounds a little confusing, but the family secrets were passed orally even if the teacher or student didn't have the Mangekyou. The only requirement to teaching and learning the secret, regardless of whether the secret could be used, was that the student must have an activated sharingan. …It's a little like how you were taught the Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu seals before you knew what chakra was."

Kazuki leaned away to look at her, "Do we have a secret?"

She pondered to herself for a moment. She had been meaning to have this talk with Itachi to try to reconnect with him, especially after his outburst.

Well, it wouldn't hurt to let Kazuki know. "Mmm, yes. But keep that a secret between you and me ok?"

Kazuki blinked owlishly at her, "Father doesn't know?"

She shook her head and leaned in so that their foreheads touched, "It'll be our secret."

Kazuki startled when her forehead touched his. "Ah. Ok."

She leaned away and started to stand up when Kazuki spoke again hesitantly, "Can you… can we…?"

"What is it?"

"Can we keep another secret?"

She sat back down, "Sure." She dismissed her initial concern at his question,  _how bad could it be?_

"Can you teach me how to use the sharingan?"

Dismay rushed through her. Kazuki didn't know what he was asking for, and he was still much too young. Even Itachi had been eight before he had activated his sharingan.

Before she could answer, he continued, "And can we keep this a secret? I don't really want anyone to know. Sasuke will get upset and father will – "

She interrupted, "We can keep it a secret. But, as you well know, activating your sharingan is a very trying and difficult process, and it can be especially dangerous when you're young. I – " She stopped herself when she noticed that Kazuki was looking away from her.

She was about to reprimand him for his inattention when he spoke, "It's dangerous when you're young because it drains your chakra levels right?"

A horrible suspicion rose within her. "Yes." Her voice was steady. She was surprised at herself.

"If I had it, would you train me? And keep it a secret?" He still wasn't looking at her.

This would explain so much. She was relieved she hadn't allowed Fugaku to push the boy.

She stepped forward and dropped to her knees. Before he could fully turn in surprise, she tugged Kazuki into a fierce hug, "Yes. Yes, it can be our secret."

She kissed the top of his head and released him. When he stepped back, she saw a glimpse of his sharingan before his eyes faded back to black.

Could he already control activating his eyes?

"Go visit your friends. We can talk more when you get back."

*

He had done it! He turned back as the last of his flames fizzled out only to see his father walk away. The emblem on his father's back had never seemed as far as it did then.

He stared at his sandals as heard his father's steps recede. Had he not learned it fast enough?

"As I expected, you are my child."

Heart in his throat, he looked up with wide eyes.

His father never turned to face him but the emblem stayed within sight as his father spoke, "Did Kazuki master this as well? Where is he?"

Sasuke shrugged, uncomfortable and uncertain. He hadn't noticed, but he doubted Kazuki had tried after he left, "I'm not sure. I think he's at Chouji's"

"The Akimichi's?"

For a moment, he was worried he had said too much. He didn't really want to get Kazuki in trouble. If he did, the boy would just complain endlessly at him and refuse to help him train. It was bad enough that he had to join Kazuki and his friends now and then to get Kazuki to go anywhere with him.

"Hmmph, no matter. You did well. From now on, you may shamelessly wear the family crest on your back. You must now improve. Then, you can soar to great heights."

Delight shot through him, "Ok!"

"Also, I will say one thing."

Curious, Sasuke waited.

"Do not follow your brother." Having said his piece, his father left.

_Itachi-niisan?_

*

"Shikaku! Glad you made it!" Chouza boomed out as he saw Shikaku making his way up the hill.

Returning Chouza's smile with a tired grin of his own, Shikaku joined Chouza on the porch, "Where's Inoichi?"

"In the back," Chouza answered with a noncommittal swing of his hand.

At that moment, the two of them were shoved forward as Inoichi slung an arm around each of their shoulders, "Right here." Turning his head, Inoichi studied Shikaku with a minute frown, "An old man like you shouldn't be doing all-nighters."

Shikaku shrugged of Inoichi's arm with an annoyed glare right before he broke into a grin, "Look who's talking. You're older than me."

Inoichi affected an affronted expression, "By a month."

On his other side, Chouza added with amusement, "And a half."

Inoichi spun around, purposefully hitting Shikaku in the face with his hair, "Why are you taking his side?"

As Shikaku sputtered, Chouza laughed and held up his hands, "Take it easy old man. Don't want to raise your blood pressure."

Inoichi gave up with a laugh before looking at Shikaku, "But seriously, is everything alright with Yoshino?"

Waving his hand, Shikaku nodded, "She's fine. Nagging as usual. The council elders just wanted a consult on the ghost case again."

When Chouza looked confused, Inoichi elaborated, "A month or so back, some patrols reported matching descriptions of an intruder. When investigations by the chuunin stalled, several of us were called in for consult."

Shikaku continued, "From all the reports, it seemed to be a prank by some skilled Academy students."

Inoichi shot him a glance, "A prank?"

Shikaku raised an eyebrow, "You weren't updated? Basically, everything reported could be explained away with a bunshin."

Inoichi furrowed his brows, "So why were you called again?"

Shikaku looked away, "The sightings were sporadic at best, but last night, one of the groups sighted a Kumo plate on the ninja. And since I made my recommendations, no one has been able to pinpoint the Academy student responsible for the appearances – if it was an Academy student."

"Oh shit."

Shikaku shrugged, "Yeah, so they wanted another consult last night. Anyway, enough about old men talk. How are the kids?"

Inoichi pointed down the field, "See for yourself."

In a clearing at the bottom of the hill, Shikaku could make out Ino making violent gestures at Chouji in between her slaps at another boy, "Who is that?"

Inoichi groaned while Chouza laughed, "Kazuki Uchiha."

Shikaku raised his brows, "An Uchiha?" He frowned for a moment, as he recalled his past conversations, "Wait, that's the kid Chouji befriended?"

Chouji grinned, "Yup. Kid's been good for Chouji."

Shikaku winced in sympathy as he saw Ino start tugging at Kazuki's pony tail while Inoichi laughed in embarrassment. He raised his eyes in surprise as he saw Chouji pick up Ino and set her aside before substituting himself with a log and hiding. The Uchiha had timed his movements in sync to Chouji, so that when Ino regained her bearings, she was staring at two logs.

Her pout was adorable.

"I didn't realize they taught the Kawarimi so early."

Chouza smiled proudly, "I asked Chouji. He said that Iruka-sensei had demonstrated in class and that Kazuki-kun had thought it would be a good idea to learn."

Inoichi rubbed his forehead, "Probably so they could run away from girls."

They watched and laughed as the two boys tried to creep through the bushes unsuccessfully before Ino pounced.

Inoichi dug an elbow in Shikaku's ribs, "Hey, are the clan elders still bugging you for an heir?"

Chouza looked over with interest, while Shikaku grimaced, "They gave up on that this month actually. Yoshino found out they had been pestering me and well… you can imagine what happened."

The other two men flinched with sympathy. Chouza asked, "So what now?"

Inoichi added, "Will they try to appoint someone else?"

Shikaku shrugged, "Apparently we don't have any suitable candidates this year. The deer rejected everyone that was presented."

Inoichi nudged him companionably while Chouza reached over to clasp him on the shoulder. As the three of them watched the children rough house, Shikaku could help but feel a little wistful. It could have been his child down there, forming a second generation of Ino-Shika-Cho.

*

"Forgive me Sasuke, another time."

Kazuki opened the door just in time to see Sasuke walk straight into another forehead flick from Itachi.

_That will never get old._

As Sasuke clapped his hand over his forehead, Itachi stood up, "I don't have time to look after you today." Walking past Kazuki, Itachi startled him by ruffling his hair.

To his embarrassment, he let out an indignant squawk of surprise, causing Sasuke to laugh.

Redoing his ponytail, he looked up to see Sasuke still staring at the door. When he realized that Kazuki had caught him looking, he offered, "See? Everything's fine; we were worried over nothing."

Kazuki looked back.

"Maybe."

He didn't think so. In any case, "Did you talk to father yet?"

He turned back to see Sasuke give him an apologetic frown, "About the fire festival? I tried, but I don't know if he heard me. I think he's working on it."

He looked back at the entranceway where Itachi had left and sighed right before he felt his head jerk back as his pony tail was pulled, "Oww, hey! What the heck?"

"It's your turn to come with!" Sasuke called out as he raced ahead.

 _The training grounds again?_  No wonder he and Naruto were powerhouses back then.

Kazuki groaned, "I just got back…"

He revised his earlier assumption.  _Maybe Sakura had developed her bedside manner from having those two competitive idiots for teammates and not from having Ino as a friend._

*

He watched with amusement as the boy stepped out to meet him, "How did you know about me?" Of the numerous clues he left, he was curious as to which ones had been spotted. After all, he hadn't expected the boy to be the first one to spot him.

"You were able to slip through the Uchiha's defense and even look at the secret stone inside the Naka shrine. Only the Uchiha know that place. After that, I examined your actions and tried to understand who you are and what your goal is."

 _From only that?_  He scrutinized the boy's body language. The boy didn't give much away, but it seemed as though the boy had arrived at his intended conclusion anyway – as expected of a genius.

With muted amusement, he noted that no Uchiha genius would have paid as much attention to him before.

Finally, when it seemed he would learn nothing more from the boy's expression by keeping silent, he spoke with a hint of dark amusement, "… Then this will be easy. You probably know that I'm an Uchiha and that I hold a grudge towards the clan and the village."

Apparently unfazed by the confirmation of a legendary identity, the boy replied evenly "You must follow my conditions. I'll help you get revenge on the Uchiha, but you must not lay a hand on the village or on my brothers – Sasuke and Kazuki."

He listened, distantly impressed as the boy outlined his plans. The clan would be extinguished even earlier than he had planned and – even better – without any suspicion of outsider influence. He would have to keep an eye on the boy, his brothers, and  _Kakashi_ , but his chances of monopolizing control over the biju just became much greater.

*

Recognizing Itachi's handwriting, Danzou intercepted the missive coded for the Hokage. Despite his informal title, Sarutobi still hadn't realized that his codes had long been broken.

It had cost him a few missions and men to maintain his cover of ignorance, but reading the missive, he knew it was well worth it. This kind of danger to the village couldn't exist.

With that man's presence, his plans for the Uchiha would have to be derailed. It wouldn't be a huge loss, as he had made arrangements for that possibility, however slight as it might have been. Thanks to that boy, the man's attention had been momentarily diverted from the village.

He was sure that wouldn't last very long

In the meantime, he would have to step up his operations outside the village and encourage Madara to seek his amusement elsewhere.

He would also have to be more proactive within the village. Sarutobi would never prepare the village in time. The lingering presence of a Kumo shinobi was a testament to that fact.

Quickly, he hid the missive in his sleeve.

Perhaps Orochimaru and his experiments could be of use once more.

*

Although it seemed premature, Mikoto had felt almost compelled to pass down her family heirloom to her children who could receive it for the past month.

Today, she had decided, today was the day that she would give in to her impulses.

Sitting on Kazuki's bed, Mikoto smiled softly at her child, "I was going to teach this to Itachi tonight, but he's taking a while to get home. So, while I wait for him, I thought I could show it to you a little early."

_Call it a mother's intuition, but I suspect you and Itachi will need all the protection I can give._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maths at the beginning of this chapter: The numbers I came up were based on the fact that there were 30 kids in Sasuke's class and 90 in the Academy before the Massacre. Then I took into consideration that there were roughly 4 generations of Uchiha during three shinobi world wars and that people, including Shikaku and Kakashi, had apparently believed that Itachi had killed everyone in the clan. I also made the arbitrary estimate that a fourth of the Uchiha were civilians since the compound in the manga appeared to be somewhat self-sufficient. I mean the police station and a bakery were located within the walls. From that I realized I needed more scenes that I had originally outlined. :D


	5. Eclipsed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mild swearing, graphic(ish) violence, unreliable narrators. Nothing that's not already in the anime (I think).

**02:00 AM**

"Having second thoughts?"

Itachi remained still, staring into the dark, "The time wasn't right." He could sense the man's amusement.

"There's never a right time to test yourself," the masked man dropped down, barely visible in the dim cast of the moonlight. Walking past Itachi, the man asked slyly, "Were you hoping to catch the attention of a  _special_  person by waiting?"

Itachi kept silent, but ducked his head to the side as he heard the man come to a standstill behind him.

"Or should I say… the attention of a certain group?"

Why did Madara care about his intentions? From the man's playful behavior, Itachi wouldn't be surprised if the man already knew about his intentions to enter the Akatsuki, "Was that a rhetorical question?"

"Maaah…," the voice trailed off. The crunch of gravel seemed unnaturally loud as the man pivoted and walked past Itachi again. The mood abruptly changed as the man turned to face him, just under an arm's length away.

The man bent at the waist, so that he was presumably on eye-level with Itachi, "Regardless of your plans, I only have so much patience for little weasels." He tilted his head to the side, as if to better see out of the single eye-hole in the mask, "Decide soon, boy."

*

**07:00 AM.**

"He's changed a little. He's not really the type to make friends. As his parent, I try to understand him, but…"

Sasuke looked back down and picked at his rice. Itachi was rarely home anymore. Even when he was home, he was distant and aloof. Kazuki on the other hand was also rarely home, but distant for an entirely different reason – exhaustion.

"Is Kazuki still asleep?"

Sasuke looked up and shook his head, "I think he went out to see Chouji."

His father harrumphed and muttered, "If he's not asleep, he's off making trouble and getting lost." He sighed and turned to Sasuke, "When you've finished eating, go and make sure he doesn't land in the hospital again. He won't want to miss the festivities tomorrow."

As Sasuke nodded, Mikoto turned and wiped her hands dry on her apron, "At least that time it was only a few stitches. I'm sure he doesn't do it on purpose."

Fugaku sighed.

"Alright Sasuke. Here's your lunch and Kazuki's. Be sure to give it to him when you find him."

"I will!" Scrambling, he called out as he left, "I'm off!" As he ran towards the compound's entrance he couldn't help but mentally groaned at the thought of searching for his directionally-challenged twin.

*

**11:00 AM**

Kazuki yawned and collapsed into a heap on the wet grass.

The last few months had felt almost as hectic as when the village had been mobilizing for the fourth war. At times, he surprised himself with the shenanigans he had not only just considered, but also executed. Anything that would keep patrols near the compound, that would force Uchiha members out at odd hours or non-clan members in the compound, or that would promote a better relationship between the clan and the village – he had tried. Among making bakery orders, attempting food poisoning (for which Naruto's fridge was disturbingly well equipped), forging betrothal requests (and hadn't that been nerve-wrackingly amusing), and falsifying the presence of Kumo ninja, he barely had time for sharingan studies with his mother. Additionally, with his father finally agreeing to a festival, the time he had to secretly train with his mother was cut to even odder hours.

He had never felt as appreciative of his mother for humoring him as he had those last few months.

As Chouji contentedly shoveled another handful of chips into his mouth by his side, Kazuki felt absurdly grateful that his friends were usually laid back.

"GERROFF ME YOU DAMN BASTARD!"

 _More or less anyway_. With a groan, he rolled to his side, where he knew he would be hidden by Chouji's girth.

He heard his brother grunt in annoyance, " _You_  get off, you idiot!"

There was a rustle of leaves before he felt Chouji shift his weight to wave.

"KAZUKI YOUR JERK OF A BROTHER'S HEREEEEEE!"

 _Dammit. They found him_.  _So much for a quick nap…_

*

**05:00 PM**

Chouji muffled a snicker as Naruto and Sasuke finally decided to work together to find Kazuki. The two of them were suited for each other. Both of them were incredibly loud, competitive, and so oblivious to their surroundings. He briefly considered upending his bag of empty wrappers over their heads. He changed his mind when he turned and saw Kazuki sleeping next to him, against the trunk of the tree.

Studying the dark circles under Kazuki, he frowned for a moment, before shrugging. Grinning mischievously to himself, he flicked a pebble into the foliage some distance away and watched Sasuke and Naruto charge away. His grin died when he returned his attention to Kazuki and was reminded of the wrapped scroll he had been given several months ago.

_What had he meant by 'if something happens' – and why Dad?_

*

**07:20 PM**

Itachi frowned as he rushed through the woods.

If he didn't know better, he would have thought that the Hokage was stalling given his recent missions out of the village. To be fair though, he was the only Uchiha who could be sent out as a courier these days. It was still strange to have so many clients request for an Uchiha.

With a graceful flip, he landed inside the compound walls.

Immediately, he could sense something was amiss. The streets were too silent. Had Madara moved without him?

_I'll attack the residential areas, the markets – the civilians first._

Quickly, he dashed up to the rooftops. The sun had just begun to set, casting an eerie reddish-orange hue across the tiles.

_While you draw in the responding shinobi, I'll incapacitate the others._

As he ran, he could only see empty streets from his high vantage point. Despite this, he knew that his movements should have already attracted attention. Activating his sharingan, he landed in the shopping district.

His worst suspicions were confirmed.

*

**07:30 PM**

Kazuki watched Sasuke and Naruto collapse onto the forest floor, panting. Although Naruto seemed to be swiftly recovering, both of them appeared to be dead-tired.

That still didn't stop them from gasping out insults.

Grinning suddenly, he elbowed Chouji, "C'mon, before they notice." If he timed this well, he could probably convince Chouji to help him practice with his shadows again.

He was distracted from Chouji's answering grin when he sensed a fast approaching presence. A moment later, a shinobi with a flak jacket dropped down in front of them, "What are you four still doing out? Don't you know a curfew's been instituted?"

Naruto flopped onto his stomach, "A curfew? What's that?"

"Idiot. There was one last week."

As the two of them started to tussle in the dirt, reminding of Kazuki of fishes flopping on the shore, the shinobi spoke quickly, "Hurry and go home."

Kazuki frowned, "Why is there another curfew? I thought the rogue-nin had been killed." At least, that was what he hoped they believed. The memories he had received from his kage bunshin hadn't been pleasant in the least, and he didn't want all of that effort to have been wasted.

"It's just another security sweep. Now, enough questions. Hurry and go home," with that said, the shinobi quickly departed.

Kazuki sighed. He had hoped to stay out longer to force someone from the clan out to retrieve him again. He looked over to see his brother pinning Naruto to the ground.

Actually, there was something he could do, "Hey, Naruto."

"Whhaaaaat? Move your ass, you stupidhead," Naruto responded as he scrabbled ineffectually at Sasuke's back.

He could see Sasuke attempt to subtly move his more ticklish spots out of Naruto's reach. This could definitely work. Those two could entertain each other, "Can we have a sleepover at your place?"

Naruto immediately stopped struggling and perked up, "Really? – oomph."

At the same time, Sasuke dropped Naruto back to the ground and protested, "NO!"

Chouji looked at him, "Ahh… my dad wanted to show me a clan jutsu tonight."

Sasuke spoke up, "It's a curfew – we're supposed to head back."

Kazuki was struck with a sudden sense of anxiety.  _The curfew… something about this_.

Naruto grumbled, "You just want to get out of your deal."

Forestalling the pending argument, Kazuki interrupted, "Sasuke, we can work on more things at Naruto's place – right Naruto?"

"Huh, wha-? Oh – yea YE –!"

"And Chouji, come over if you can?" Not watching to see if Chouji nodded, he quickly grabbed his jacket and checked to see if he had everything with him. "You guys head back first. I'm going to let our parents know."

Sasuke began to protest, "Father won't – "

"Don't worry about it," Kazuki interrupted, "Naruto, this is ok with you right?"

Naruto nodded vigorously.

Kazuki gave him a tense smile and clapped him on the shoulder, "Thanks. If anything happens or you see our signal, you know what to do."

Naruto squinted at him, "Ehhh…, are you sure that's going to work?" When Kazuki shot him a look, he waved his hands, "OK, ok, I got it. Just ask your mom if you can come and then you won't even have to worry about running."

Kazuki rolled his eyes, "Just go ok? I'll join you guys in a bit." With that said, he sauntered off.

Naruto shouted at his back as he disappeared into the underbrush, "Don't leave me alone with this bastard for too long!"

Sasuke growled, but didn't bother retaliating. He stood indecisively for a moment as Naruto and Chouji made to pick up their belongings. The reddish glow of the forest had faded to a soft golden glow. He wasn't exactly sure what was wrong, but he recognized that smile that Kazuki had given. The smile had been a little too wide, a little too quick. It was the same smile Kazuki used to give after a nightmare.

He exhaled sharply as he came to a decision, "Naruto, I'm going to make sure Kazuki doesn't get lost again. Chouji, see you later." With an absent minded wave, he set out to find his twin.

*

**07:30 PM**

Itachi glanced at the position of the sun. At this time of day, his brothers should both be out of the compound. He held onto that thought for a brief moment before forcefully blanking his mind and focused his attention on the mission that had started without him.

There was no time; the genjutsu could disperse at any moment. All evidence of the coup had to be destroyed.

If Danzo hadn't moved his people, anyone could stumble upon the compound. Swiftly, Itachi created three shadow clones. As he rushed to the residence of the nearest clan elder, he sent one clone to watch the compound gates and the other two to gather more information around the compound.

From the wounds and positions of the bodies, it looked as if Madara had gone ahead with the original plan. Heart thundering in his chest, Itachi hoped that was the case.

Approaching the Uchiha Tekka's residence, he could see the clan elder's motionless profile. Quickly entering the house, he approached the kneeling figure from behind as his sense of foreboding grew.

He faced the man. Tekka looked catatonic as he had half expected.

Had Madara known about his mission all along?

 _Howcouldheprotecthisbrothersfroma_ ** _legend_**? Steadying himself, he asked, "What is your name?"

The man immediately responded without inflection, "Uchiha Tekka."

"Blink twice."

Tekka blinked twice. His face remained expressionless.

 _Shit_. Madara  _had_  known. There wasn't time to dwell. He had to move forwards. "Destroy any evidence related to the revolution."

"Ye-URCGH!"

Itachi stepped to the side and lifted his head as a kunai ripped through the man's throat at the edge of his vision. Madara stood before him, behind Tekka, who collapsed bonelessly onto the floor, "I've already taken care of that."

As he spoke, he tossed a scroll to Itachi, "I found this on your desk. Since it didn't look like you were going to be back in time, I figured I'd do you a favor."

Ignoring the implication that Madara had been inside his house, he caught and unfurled the scroll. He made a note of the broken seal before scanning the document.

**Clouds will cover the moon as the horse runs. Uproot the disease before the ram arrives.  
** _[The compound will be undisturbed. The cleansing must be completed in an hour (7-8PM)]_

**Seedlings depend on vermin-free soil.  
** _[Your brothers' lives depend upon the reputation of the Uchiha.]_

Irritation briefly rushed through him.  _How could Danzo have been so careless?_ It wasn't as if he didn't already know that Danzo was leaving the onus of the cover-up on him. There was no need to remind him of his brothers. Moreover, the timing of Danzo's movements should have been related to him  _directly_  – and with a much greater lead time.

Brushing aside his annoyance in the face of the much greater threat, he stared back evenly, "A favor?"

Madara backed up as he answered, "The evidence has all been destroyed – as your clones should corroborate."

As if Madara had purposefully timed his words, Itachi suddenly had an influx of memories to assimilate. Actually, taking in the last bit of memories, Itachi suspected that Madara had been responsible for the dispersal of his two clones, but not before they had accomplished their original purpose.

As he was swallowed by the shadows, Madara spoke again. "With the exception of your brothers, your clan is dead," Madara shrugged, " – or dying."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. _My parents - !_

He tensed at the sound of Madara's dry laugh, "Funny, isn't it? I did warn them the village would be their downfall."

He felt Madara's single sharingan drilling into his own even as the last of Madara disappeared, "Saaa, you can thank me later."

Itachi ran.

*

**07:37 PM**

The second he was sure he was out of their sight, Kazuki took off.

A second village curfew was odd. He couldn't remember having curfews as a child, but it wasn't like he had wandered around a lot back then either. He hoped his sudden anxiety was only due to paranoia.

_They couldn't have acted yet._

Between his memories from his attempts to crack Jiraiya's code about Pain and from attending the planning sessions for the fourth war, he was certain that his understanding of how the village currently used its messenger birds was accurate. Judging from the flight patterns of the birds this morning, he was sure that Itachi had left the village that afternoon.

Additionally, the Hokage had to know about the increased communications between the Uchiha and the rest of the village…

In any case, there was no point to this line of thought.

He picked up his speed. By the time he reached the compound, the sun had almost set. He paused, a step from breaking the cover of the forest. Shaking off his sudden hesitance, he regained his breath and walked past the compound gates.

It was too quiet.

He glanced at the sky and felt his hackles rise. It was too dark for the streetlights to not be lit.

He quickened his steps. He needed the confirmation.

He saw the ripped paper lanterns before the first body. Rushing over, he dropped to his knees and scrambled with one hand for his stasis pills while reaching for the person's neck with his other. He stopped, when he felt warm dampness beneath his fingertips.

Carefully, he used his other hand to flip the body over. Dead.

He paused, in the middle of a handseal. The blood was warm. There was still a chance his parents…

Signaling now might bring help, or it might rush whoever had done this.

_There wasn't time for this._

Hastily, he retrieved a plastic packet from his jacket and tore a hole into the bag with his teeth. Swinging his arms with wide hurried arcs, it took only a few seconds to cast the ash inside the bag into thin black swirls around the area.

With a quick glance backwards to ensure the ash had been cast, he sped towards home.

 _Please be alright_.

*

**07:42 PM**

Filtering through the memories of his shadow clones, it seemed as if Madara had been true to his word. Itachi ducked through the window into his room and rushed downstairs. Crossing the courtyard in a few bounds, he entered the study by leaping through the window.

For the first time in a long time, it took him a full second to process what was before him.

His original plan had involved attacking the conspirators of the revolution and placing them under a genjutsu before executing them. Under this genjutsu, he could question them to ensure there was no evidence of the clan's schemes and to ensure a quick death. Somehow, Madara had known of his plans and had apparently executed them as he had intended.

But he had  _never_  intended this.

He dropped to his knees in front of his parents and swiftly released the genjutsu on his parents. Immediately, their heads dropped, but the rest of their bodies remained immobile.

It took his father a moment to find his bearings and draw pain-glazed eyes to meet Itachi's own, "So, you joined them?"

Dimly, Itachi realized he had never undressed from his ANBU gear and that Tekka's blood still decorated his chest plate. He only saw the puncture wounds in both of his parents' sides.

Judging by the size of the stains in their clothing, his parents had been frozen in a kneeling posture for approximately ten minutes. That man had ensured they would be just alive to exchange last words with Itachi.

_A favor…?_

His eyes were burning. The puncture wound on his father was too precise, too well mirrored on his mother. Madara had meant to hit the stomach. The pain his parents were under...

… _or a warning?_

"Father, Mother, I…" his breath hitched.

He could see his mother visibly fighting back the pain, while his father spoke again, as if he were unaffected by the pain, "Itachi."

He had to stop this. He reached behind his back.

"Promise me."

Pausing, he returned his father's stare. He could hear his mother's rasping breaths amid wet coughs.

"Promise me you will protect Sasuke and Kazuki."

He gave a sharp nod, "I will."

 _This has to be done. There was no time._ He closed his eyes and clasped his hand around the handle of his tanto and pulled. It wasn't until he heard the blade rattle against the scabbard that he realized that he was trembling.

"Don't hesitate."

He opened his eyes.

His father was smiling, "Our pain will be brief compared to yours. You've chosen a hard path to pursue your vision. We both only ever had the best of intentions. I'm proud of you. "

"… _We're_  proud." His mother was looking at him through her hair.

He jerked suddenly as memories of his last clone came to him. His brothers were back in the compound.

"I.. tachi.." his mother's voice was whisper thin in contrast to his father solid, "Do it."

He stabbed and felt something within him snap. Letting out a sob, he tried to move his frozen fingers, to turn his attention to his mother.  _One more._

The blood burned against his skin.

With a strangled cry, he pulled the blade out.

"…wait…"

His sight was blurred with tears and he heard, more than saw, his father fall with a soft thud.

"I..tachi.."

He could barely hear her words over his own gasps. He blinked rapidly, and forced himself to look, to see the hate that  _had_  to be in his mother's eyes for him.

But there was only concern. He hated that she understood. He hated the forgiveness he saw.

Her lips moved silently.  _Kazuki, watch... Something… to him. Has sharingan._

"FATHER! MOTHER!" Sasuke's voice.

His throat tightened as he saw his mother's eyes widen and fill with horror.

He was out of time. He needed to go. He could hear pounding footsteps come to a stop.

His mother finally looked away. Twisting her head, she cried, "Sasuke, don't come in!"

In one breath, he shuttered his emotions away and called forth the persona he had created so many months ago. He stabbed on his exhale.  _Don't watch, mother. Go straight to heaven and don't watch this_.

As his mother fell, he quickly stepped back into the shadows and wiped away his tears. There was one more dance he had to perform tonight.

The door slowly swung inwards, revealing Sasuke's shocked expression, "Father! Mother!" He watched the boy rush in and noted Kazuki's absence. Stepping forward, he watched disbelief cross his foolishly stubborn little brother's face.

This was the one who would - _end him-_ challenge him.

How pitiful. 

He ended his brother's bewildered cries by hurling a shuriken, which grazed his brother's shoulder. He waited for Sasuke to register his actions.

Sasuke needed to get over his disbelief. He closed his eyes,  _"_ Foolish little brother." He would crush that naiveté. It was time Sasuke learned about Tsukuyomi, "Mange –"

"KATON GOUKAKYUU!"

He leapt back. Instead of flames, a thick screen of black smoke blocked the exit, replacing the space where Sasuke had been.

*

Kazuki hastily reapplied the chakra on his hands. Even though he knew the cost of creating a Kage Bunshin, the drain had still surprised him.

He hadn't felt this sort of adrenaline rush through him since facing the roots of Obito's carnivorous plant. Kazuki watched Itachi take a single step forward – towards his ash cloud, before pivoting sharply and leaping out the window.

He wasn't sure whether or not to be relieved or disappointed that his ploy hadn't worked.

Once he was sure Itachi was gone, he dropped from the ceiling and rushed to his mother's side. He was pushing a white pill past her lips and trying to massage her throat before he realized the clamminess of her skin. She wasn't breathing.

She was already gone.

His eyes flickered over her still form for a moment before he caught himself.

Slipping on the floor, he scrambled over to his father, reaching for a pulse that he already knew wasn't going to be there.

_Itachi is- was ANBU. You knew what that meant._

He sat back.

It didn't make any sense. How did he miss – there was no time for Itachi to – it just –

The seat of his pants was wet.

He was sitting in his parents' blood.

He was –

He –

What was he doing?

He scrambled up and darted for his room, moving almost on autopilot. His mind kept flashing back to his parents’ bodies. He needed to get Sasuke out. He needed his supplies. His parents had two wounds. Why didn't Sasuke listen to him? His parents had been attacked twice. He had to get Sasuke out. Their first assailant had aimed for their stomachs – but that wasn't Itachi. That needless pain  _totheirPARENTS_  wasn't Itachi.

Another attacker? The Uchiha were all dead.  _His clan was all dead_.

Sliding into his room, he grabbed a half dismantled radio from his desk and slid open his window and stopped as he was hit with a sudden thought.

Could it have been Obito?

_This early?_

*

Itachi was vaguely surprised by the “smoke” screen. He didn't know when or where Kazuki had learned that skill. If his sharingan hadn't been activated, he wasn't sure he would have noticed the singe marks on the wooden floor caused by the falling ash particles.

Honing in on Sasuke's chakra signature, he leapt out the window and ran to cut off his brother's escape. It was strange that he couldn't detect Kazuki's signature. Was that another skill his brother had picked up? What had his mother been trying to tell him about Kazuki?

He jumped down from the roof and waited for his brother to come into view. Soon enough, he could see his Sasuke's profile running down the street.

But his movement was wrong. Back arched, arms held the slightest bit too close – Sasuke was running like Kazuki.

As his brother skidded to a stop in front of him, he narrowed his eyes and reactivated his sharingan. That chakra was definitely Kazuki's.  _Henge?_

"Do you hope to distract me from your brother, Kazuki?"

Unexpectedly, the boy answered him by hurling kunai that appeared to be infused with chakra.

_When had Kazuki learned to do that?_

Regardless, the boy's aim was rather lackluster. Itachi dodged the throws with ease before catching and returning the last kunai at a much higher speed. The kunai hit a log.

Itachi watched as 'Sasuke' dropped the henge, and Kazuki reappeared.

"DAMMIT SASUKE. GET OUT OF HERE!"

 _A transformation jutsu on one of the kunai?_ He looked back to see Sasuke facing him, clearly indecisive.

"I TOLD YOU, IT'S NOT ITACHI! RUN!"

This was taking too long. He casted another illusion.

As Sasuke shouted in horror at what he believed to be a barrage of shuriken hurtling towards Kazuki, he reappeared in front of Sasuke, "Mangekyou sharingan!"

Sasuke screamed. Itachi could feel his brother's mind twisting beneath his own. He had only begun to show Sasuke a few scenes before he was forced to jump back. Immediately blue sparks arched over where he had been standing, separating him from Sasuke. Released from the genjustu, Sasuke slumped to the ground.

He looked behind him to see Kazuki holding an exposed wire to the ash that was lying on the ground.

_Volcanic ash?_

Seeing Kazuki flash through familiar handsigns, he used shunshin to step in front of Kazuki.

"Katon Gouka –"

Cutting off the shout with a sharp punch to the stomach, he was startled when the shout finished from a different direction.

"-kyuu!"

As three bursts of bright thin flames raced upwards to light up the night sky, Itachi heard the recognizable pop of a bunshin dispersing next to him.

 _Kage bunshin?_  Had he missed something? There was no way Kazuki could know such an advanced technique or have the chakra levels to pull it off.

He turned to see Kazuki crouched next to Sasuke whispering. He was certain the chakra signature he was seeing was Kazuki's.

He frowned. A moment later, Kazuki stiffened right before Sasuke's shriek broke the silence. His suspicions rose when instead of screaming, Kazuki released Sasuke from the genjutsu. He would have to stop holding back as much, especially with the flares Kazuki had just sent up.

With another shunshin he threw Kazuki bodily away into the wall of a neighboring storefront. He walked towards Kazuki slowly, giving Sasuke time to recover. Picking Kazuki up by his collar, he slammed the boy hard against the wall just as Sasuke cried out, "Stop it!"

He paused and turned his head to watch as Sasuke managed to stand up. He felt Kazuki begin to stir.

"Why? Why did you?"  _Stop trusting me with those eyes_.

"To measure my capacity," he replied flatly as he felt Kazuki grasp weakly at his wrist with both hands.

Sasuke shook his head in denial, "No, no. You're not my brother. You're not – "

"The brother you wanted to spend time with has done this to measure  _your_  capacity. I acted like your companion to see your potential. Your hate for me, your desire to surpass me,  _your_ capacity...those are the reasons I will let you live, so that you can become like me."

He felt small hands clasp around his own as a shout broke out, "NO!"

Turning his head, he saw a pair of sharingan eyes, staring defiantly back at him. He had hoped but never expected for at least one of his brothers to activate their sharingan.

"Sasuke don't listen to him! He's not Itachi."

Frustrated, Itachi switched his grip to a chokehold. He hadn't expected Kazuki to be so stubborn. He made an offhand remark to Sasuke, "Kazuki on the other hand…"

He prepared scenes of Sasuke's death and layered those scenes with his memories of killing their parents. He topped those scenes with death scenarios of the Kyuubi and Akimichi boys.

Leaning in, he met Kazuki's eyes, "I don't think you have the capacity.  _Mangekyou sharingan_."

Immediately he felt a difference between Kazuki and Sasuke's minds and the strain on his eyes. Whereas Sasuke reminded him of freshly fallen snow, Kazuki reminded him of the shifting shadows casted by leaves dancing in the wind. He caught Kazuki's mind with a few scenes, but the speed at which Kazuki recoiled surprised him. He sensed a familiar taint before he felt the flow of chakra shift.

_A monstrous creature with ten tails swirling above. Men and women dying,hollowedcheeks, men standing together – Madara with black eyes next to…Madara?_

He released the jutsu, breaking free of those disjointed images. As his vision cleared, he realized he was staring into the unfocused gaze of another pair of Mangekyou sharingan.

_What…?_

He raised his other hand and backhanded a charging Sasuke. Before he could follow up the attack, he found himself unable to move. He was startled when he identified the technique from the shadows encircling his arms. _Kage tsukami (shadow clutch)._

He would have been impressed at the caster's skill if it hadn't been Kazuki. The hazy nature of shadows at night usually made the shadows much more difficult to manipulate. He had only seen highly experienced Naras execute this technique in this low-level lighting.  _Kage bunshin, volcanic ash, Mangekyou sharingan, kage tsukami…_

_Who was this?_

No one had replicated the Mangekyou sharingan before. From the number of bodies his clones had reported, there was only one other Uchiha who could have the Mangekyou. But why would Madara pretend to be Kazuki – and if that was the case, where was Kazuki? Was this another trick of Madara's?

Anger flared as he felt his fingers start to loosen from their chokehold around the boy's neck. It took a moment to resist the hold of the shadows, but he could already feel the shadow technique weakening.

He broke free.

It was only instinct that kept him from driving the kunai into bone.

*

Kazuki gave a hoarse yell as he felt the kunai pierce his shoulder, pinning him against the wall.

He hadn't meant to use his Mangekyou sharingan. Some part of him was almost grateful that he now had the pain to stave off his sudden exhaustion.

"Who are you?"

He blinked rapidly, trying to regain his breath. His left arm refused to obey him, but he managed to cover one of his brother's hands with his right hand. If Naruto had been paying attention, there wouldn't be much time left. Even if Naruto hadn't been paying attention, someone would have noticed his flares.

He focused on Itachi's eyes with desperation. He had never seen his brother look so frantic – which was just so  _wrong_. Would this be the last time he would see him?

There was so much Itachi needed to know. He was so young and he was going to go join the Akatsuki –  _where Hidan was_.

Whatcouldhedo?WhatcouldheSAY?

But everything was so muddled and the hold on his neck was only getting tighter. Everything was just so  _inadequate_.

He saw red eyes narrow and felt the grip on his neck loosen.  _Were those tears?_  He felt the familiar stirring of chakra on his skin and knew he was out of time.

The words just escaped him. "Ki o tsukete. Nii-san."

The pressure against his neck and shoulder vanished right before he impacted against the floor. He turned his head and was blearily aware of Naruto yelling hysterically. Sasuke lay motionless beside him.  
"WHATTHEHELL? WHAT HAPPENED?! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

Why was Sasuke motionless?

"WHAT'S GOING ON?"

.

Heneededtocheckonhisbrother. He needed to check –

"IS THAT BLOOD?!"

.

on Sasuke–

.

"KAZUKI!"

.

He needed –

.

.

"Isn't this your mom?"

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behind the conception of the massacre: When I had been first dabbling with the idea of Shika reincarnated, I wanted him to succeed. But then I realized that having him succeed would change a lot of the canonverse, destroying the feasibility of him in certain later scenes. For example, Orochimaru wouldn't have to target Sasuke. Danzou could have a whole other arm full of sharingan (eww.) Once I thought about that, I also realized the chances of him succeeding were really low in the first place. From my standpoint, I knew if I travelled back in time with everything I know now, there would be a lot of national tragedies I would have no way of knowing how to stop.  
> The scenes of the massacre (what Itachi was going to do and how Shika was going to react) also changed a lot from what they were going to be when I was writing Chapter 1. Between writing Chapters 2&3, I realized that it would be really hard to 'save' Itachi if he did kill his clan. This was a guy who became a pacifist by the scenes of war instead of being inured to it like many others had been. Based on the presence of shoguns and merchants, I kinda figured that there'd be some sorta Neo-Confucianism thing going on, i.e. emphasis on filial piety. Between that and his goal to have Sasuke kill him, I figured Itachi would have a crap ton of self-hatred going on. Even if he killed his clan for his village, I don't think he could forgive himself. Anyway, those were the main considerations behind the conception of this chapter.


	6. Embers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I actually looked up Icha Icha books for this chapter.

**07:45 PM**

Kakashi was bored.

He hated being bored.

If he had known he was going to be off active duty for two months, he would have paced himself. Reading Icha Icha Paradise for the seventh time that month meant that the novel served as a very poor distraction from his thoughts. He readjusted his seat on the branch and settled back with his arms crossed behind his head.

He had known his streak of back to back missions was going to end eventually, but he had never thought they would end so abruptly. He tilted his head to the side and watched as his reason for lounging in the tree finally stood.

Judging from the black turtleneck and unmasked face, it looked like the rumors were true; Gai had finally left ANBU. He was surprised Gai had stayed for as long as he had.

With a glance at the moon, he sighed and jumped down. Gai didn't turn around. In fact, from the time it took Kakashi to amble across the field to stand at his side in front of the memorial stone, Gai never made a sound.

It was disquieting. He floundered for something to say; social niceties had never been his thing. The few people he was even remotely close to didn't exactly follow social norms themselves. As much as he hated to admit it, Gai had become somewhat of a touchstone for him, acting as a distraction for the brief moments when he was off-duty in the village. He stood there awkwardly for a moment, hoping his presence would suffice.

A sudden burst of light at the corner of his eye caught his attention. Turning his head, he caught three white bursts of fire streaking upwards, illuminating the night sky and casting the landscape in deep shadows.

That was strange. Was it a signal that the curfew was over?

He glanced at Gai's face as an idea struck him. Technically, he wasn't even supposed to be out here.

He idly rubbed his chin with a knuckle as he considered the risks and merits of his idea.

Meh. He owed the Hokage for leaving him idle for so long anyway. The excuse about time off for closure was bullshit, just like the reason for this curfew judging by jounin gossip. Plus, something about those flares was rubbing him the wrong way.

"Race you to those flares?"

For a moment, he thought it wasn't going to work, but he immediately retracted his doubts as Gai leaped straight into his nice guy pose, with one hand on his waist and the other waving a thumbs-up sign beneath his nose. The pose was slightly jarring with Gai dressed in black instead of his preferred green, but the sense of familiarity soon returned with Gai's loud volume, "Alright! LET'S DO THIS!"

His grin wasn't as wide as it was before, but it was back.

Moving almost in sync with Gai, Kakashi took a step back, readying himself only to launch off with Gai's bellowed shout, "One-two-three-GOOOOOO!"

 _So much for racing discretely._ As he ran with arms trailing behind him, Kakashi grinned beneath his mask. He wondered if any of the patrols would be able to catch them.

*

**08:00 PM**

Chouza watched, surprised, as his son moved smoothly without hesitation through the pattern that he had only introduced the week before – and straight through the sequence that he had planned to introduce that evening.  _Right, left, turn the right foot, pivot, heel – toe down– and strike!_

"Chouji."

When his son continued to move absently through the forms, Chouza took another step forward and crouched down in front of his son, "Chouji."

Startled, Chouji took a step back and dropped out of his stance, "Wha – sorry! What did I do wrong?"

Chouza noted Chouji's inattention. Actually, the boy had seemed preoccupied earlier too. He gave him a proud but quizzical smile, "Nothing, you did it flawlessly."

Chouji gave him a distracted, but happy smile.

"Who have you been practicing those stances with?" Chouza watched as Chouji's smile faded into a worried pout.

"Kazuki. Sometimes Naruto when he's around."

Chouza noted his son's anxiety, "What's wrong?" He waited patiently as Chouji fidgeted with his hands.

"Kazuki… Kazuki –Can I go see Naruto?"

Surprised at the sudden question, Chouza motioned for Chouji to follow him back into the house. As they walked he asked, "I'm afraid there's a curfew out. Is there a reason you need to see him?"

Sucking on his lip, Chouji didn't reply until he was sitting at the dining room table, "I'm worried… something might have happened."

Placing a cup of tea in front of his son, Chouza took a seat across from him and suggested, "Why don't you start from the beginning."

Chouji cupped his hands around the mug, pursed his lips for a brief moment, before finally speaking haltingly, "Kazuki was gonna see… if he could sleep at Naruto's tonight ….I thought he meant it as a joke, …but …he said he'd signal if …something happened."

"Signal?"

Chouji traced the rim of the mug with his thumb, "It's a pattern." He tapped the table with three even taps using his other hand, "If we see that pattern or hear it, whoever has the scrolls s'posed to use it."

"Scrolls?" Chouza leaned forward.

Chouji glanced at the window again before mumbling, "Kazuki's got these scrolls to get Naruto out of trouble."

Chouza was a little surprised the Fugaku and Mikoto had allowed Kazuki access to summoning scrolls, "What makes you think something happened?"

Chouji looked at the window again, "Those flares at dinner tonight…"

Chouza felt something inside him freeze for a moment. He had thought that those flares were unusual, but he had assumed it was part of some drills for the curfew. Now that he thought about it, those flares had seemed to come from the direction of the Uchiha compound.

It was most likely just a coincidence.

"Kazuki's never signaled us before."

Chouza studied Chouji's worried expression. He wasn't going to get anywhere teaching Chouji Baika no Jutsu when the boy was this distracted. If he spoke to Shikaku, he could probably get around the curfew. He needed to talk to Fugaku about some of the festivities planned for the next day anyway. Though, that did remind him, "Why did you want to go to Naruto's then?"

Chouji looked up, "Naruto has the scrolls. He couldn't stop talking about having a sleepover on the way back, so…" Chouji swallowed.

"You think he summoned Kazuki-kun over?"

Chouji nodded, before looking down and fiddling with this shirt, "It's probably nothing, but…"

Chouza stood up and leaned across the table to pat Chouji on the head, "I'll see what I can do."

After being hounded by the village elders for the last month, Shikaku was probably eager for an excuse to break the curfew.

*

 **08:08PM  
** "Holycrapholycrapfreakinghell-KAZUKIIIII!" The woman was bleeding. She was bleeding all over the scrolls, the floor, his hands...

When Naruto had seen the flares, he had hesitated. Maybe it wasn't Kazuki that was signaling him. However, excitement at the prospect of his first sleepover quickly overcame his hesitance, and he had quickly thrown the two scrolls Kazuki had given him across his living room. Immediately three figures, which was already one more than he was expected, had landed with a solid thump on the floor. Curious about the stranger, he had paid attention to the woman first and that was when he had first noticed the messy red trails that decorated her lips and chin.

" _Kazuki!"_ When it finally registered that Kazuki hadn't responded, he looked back and realized that neither Kazuki nor Sasuke had made a sound since he had first summoned them.

Both were still and unmoving on his floor.

He scrambled forward and dropped into a half-crawl, half-run to Sasuke, who was lying closer to him, "Sasuke!" When there was no response, he slapped the boy's face, "Bastard!" When there was still no response, he leapt over Sasuke and darted to kneel next to Kazuki.

Grabbing one shoulder to flip his friend onto his back like Sasuke, Naruto was startled by the warm dampness he felt.

He snatched his hand away and stared in disbelief. There was a kunai buried to the handle in Kazuki's shoulder.

He hovered his hands uncertainly over Kazuki.  _Whattodowhattodowhattodo?_ He scrubbed at his head with his hands and tugged at his hair, blinking rapidly in an attempt to prevent his tears from leaking out.

What had Iruka said to do about injuries?

He swallowed and looked back at the other two lying in his room. Quickly, he scrambled back to Sasuke's side. Grabbing both shoulders, he screamed into his rival's face as he shook the boy back and forth, "SASUKE! WAKE UP! WAKE UUUPPPP!"

There was still no response.

His voice broke, "Damn you." Vision blurring, he looked up across the room at the woman again. He was pretty sure she was Kazuki and Sasuke's mom.

He released his hold on Sasuke and backed away on all fours. Across the room, he could see a pool of blood growing beneath the woman.

He could do bandages. He leapt up and tore down the hall to his room. Flipping aside dirty laundry and old comic books, he searched for his old roll before running back.

Dropping to his knees next to Kazuki, he tugged the boy into his lap and began to haphazardly tie bandages around his friend's chest around the kunai. As he passed the roll back and forth from hand to hand, he glanced at Sasuke and the woman.

He needed help. Sasuke looked fine, but the lady was….

Swiftly tying a knot, he gently lay Kazuki down and dashed out the door. For five long minutes, he went from door to door, banging and hollering, but to no avail. Sinking to the floor, he wiped at his eyes furiously with one arm while hugging his knees with his other arm. This was taking too long.

Fighting to control his panic, he growled in frustration. Why would no one answer him? Why was he always – ? Iruka-sensei.

He leapt up and ran back to his apartment. Iruka-sensei would know what to do.

Slamming his door shut, he gave the bodies in his room one last glance before running to his room and leaping out the back window.

 _Hold on guys_.

 _Please_.

*

**08:08PM**

Ki o tsukete.

He exhaled slowly and deactivated his sharingan. He glanced at the pile of debris, where he had last seen Sasuke. As he had expected, his other brother was also gone. The last time he had seen that pattern of chakra dancing across Kazuki's skin was during his chuunin exam, when his whole team had been summoned into a separate stadium by summoning scrolls.

Who was the summoner? From the boy's expression right before disappearing from his grasp, the summoning had most likely been expected, which would imply that "Kazuki" had planned to be summoned.

Aside from the summoning, there was also the case of "Kazuki". Placing his sudden display of skills aside, the boy's expressions, motions, chakra, words, - everything indicated that the boy  _was_  his brother.

His mother had also been trying to tell him about Kazuki.

 _Kazuki, watch… Something… to him. Has sharingan._  Had she known about and hid his skills? But he had interrupted her, broken off her chance to say her last words.

Two chakra signatures rapidly approaching interrupted his reverie. Judging from the fact that the owners of the chakra signatures seemed to be making an attempt to broadcast their presence, he guessed that they hadn't yet detected him. Swiftly, he wiped his face and retreated. He had ninneko and village elders to find.

*

**08:12 PM**

Kakashi wasn't sure who noticed something was amiss first. He wasn't sure what tipped Gai off, but it was the iron stink of blood for him. Catching Gai's eye, he flicked his fingers to the left. He could see the gates to the Uchiha compound approaching in front of him as Gai nodded. At the next intersection, he darted left while Gai continued his dash straight down the street.

As he hid his chakra signature, a tiny part of him regretted not being able to finish the race. Dismissing the thought, he quickly flipped himself onto the rooftops and continued his advance towards the compound. On his final leap, he bit his thumb so that he summoned his ninken upon landing atop the compound gates. He motioned for Pakkun to stay while making a separate signal for reconnaissance to the rest of his ninken.

As the rest of his ninken scattered, he grimly faced Pakkun and signed, "Alert Hokage: Attack in Uchiha Compound. Investigating with Gai. Send medics."

Once Pakkun disappeared, he heard Gai's rendition of an owl's screech; it sounded like a dying crow. As he stood, the wind changed directions, blowing straight into his face with a new scent.

_Firewood?_

*

**08:20 PM**

"I  _told_  them the curfew was unnecessary," grumbled Shikaku for the umpteenth time that night.

Inoichi groaned and Chouza laughed. It had been a pleasant surprise to find Inoichi at Shikaku's place - having an Intelligence member and a Jounin Commander eased his concerns over breaking curfew. Both men had been looking for an excuse to break the curfew.

Stopping in front of the apartment complex, Inoichi scrutinized the general neighborhood, "This is where Naruto-kun lives?"

Before Chouza could reply, the sound of a slamming window caused all three jounin to look up, just in time to see a small figure flying out.

Shikaku tensed first, and as the small figure swiftly made his way down, Chouza saw the reason. In the dim lighting cast by the neighborhood street lamps, Chouza was just able to distinguish blood from shadow on the village jinchuriki's face.

Warily, Chouza stepped forwards, "Naruto-kun?"

Bright blue eyes snapped in his direction and for a moment everything was still.

"…Chouji's…dad?"

Cautiously, he nodded and barely motioned away Shikaku and Inoichi's concern away in time before Naruto launched towards him to clutch at his arm.

"Hurry, you hafta hurry!"

Grabbing the boy's shoulder, Chouza spun him around and crouched down so that he was on eye-level. From this distance, he could make out tear-tracks dividing the crimson smears on the boy's cheeks, "Whose blood is this?"

The boy pulled away with a desperate shout, "I DON'T KNOW! KAZUKI'S BLEEDING AND SASUKE WON'T WAKE UP AND –" He was cut off as Chouza lifted him.

Shikaku was already halfway up the building when Inoichi stepped forward, "Are they in your apartment?"

Caught by surprise, Naruto managed a nod. Almost in unison, the three men made their way up to where they had heard the window open. The light was still on.

Shikaku entered first, followed by Inoichi, who then opened the backdoor for Chouza to enter with Naruto. The moment Chouza stepped over the threshold Naruto wriggled out of his hold and started pushing Chouza down the hall, past the other men. From the corner of his eye, he could see Shikaku and Inoichi making a note of their surroundings. There were no clear signs of struggle. The only thing out of place was the blood smears on the floor.

The moment he saw the three figures lying motionless on the floor, he pushed Naruto back and swept the boy into his arms. Shikaku and Inoichi rushed past him amidst Naruto's protesting yells.

Ignoring the boy's cries, Chouza waited until Shikaku called to enter the room, with the boy still in his arms.

Pushing the boy's face into his shoulder, he surveyed the scene as he waited for Shikaku's assessment. At the far right of the room, Shikaku crouched over a woman that he identified as Fugaku's wife. Blood had pooled beneath her, staining summoning scrolls and floorboards underneath her. At the center of the room, Inoichi was squatting at the head of Sasuke, with one palm over the boy's forehead. To the left, he recognized the familiar form of his son's best friend, causing him to clutch Naruto a little tighter to his chest. Absently hushing the boy, he looked up as Shikaku stood.

In a low voice, he asked, "Is she - ?"

Shikaku shook his head sharply and walked quickly to the other side of the room.

 _Dead then_. He felt Naruto stiffen in his arms and asked his next question by motioning behind the boy's back, " _The boy?"_

Mindful of the shoulder injury, Shikaku started to lift the boy with one hand while signing with the other, " _Blood loss and chakra exhaustion_." Hearing the shift of cloth as Inoichi withdrew his hand from Sasuke's forehead, Shikaku turned, "How is he?"

Instead of answering verbally, Inoichi shook his head.

Both men were silent as they watched Shikaku take another quick survey of the room. With a sharp exhale, he hugged Kazuki closer to his chest and placed on hand on the boy's forehead. After glancing at Inoichi and receiving a nod, he waited for Inoichi to mimic his movements with Sasuke.

Picking up on Shikaku's intentions, Chouza made his way over to the woman. He readjusted his hold on Naruto so that he could hold the boy in one arm, and picked up the woman with his other. Murmuring softly, he spoke into the boy's ear, "We're going to hospital ok?"

He felt the boy manage a small nod against his shoulder.

"Let's go."

He looked back, in time to see shadows leap across the room to grip Inoichi. He quickly brought up the rear, following as Shikaku led the way out of the apartment and over the rooftops towards the hospital.

*

Once he felt secure in Shikaku's shadows, Inoichi entered the boy's memories.

" _KATON GOUKAKYUU!"_

_Smoke burst across the room, obscuring his view of his brother. He felt a hand grip his wrist and soon he was being tugged down the stairs and out of the house._

_With the darkness and panic flooding his body, it took him a moment to recognize the form running in front of him, "Kazuki?"_

" _Shhh! Keep your voice down!"_

_Kazuki stopped abruptly and docked into a small alleyway._

" _Kazuki!"_

_He felt like his shoulder was going to pop out of its socket as Kazuki jerked him down and started to whisper urgently, "Quiet! We need to get out of here!"_

_Sasuke yanked his wrist out of Kazuki's grasp, "Mother and father are still back there! And nii-san's still –"_

" _Look at your shoulder! Do you really think that was nii-san?"_

_At Kazuki's words, Sasuke absently brought a hand up to touch the deep gash in his shoulder. Kazuki leaned in, "Think for a moment! If that impersonator could take down mother and father, what do you think you can do?"_

" _I –" Fear froze his mind._

" _Can you transform into a kunai?"_

_Frustrated, Sasuke burst out, "What - ?"_

" _Just do it!"_

_Seeing Kazuki hurriedly look over his shoulder, out of the alleyway, Sasuke hastily performed a henge._

" _When I throw you, **run**. Get out of the compound and don't look back."_

_It was too late to protest, Kazuki was already racing out of the alleyway. He struggled to maintain the henge when he heard a familiar voice call out, "Do you hope to distract me from your brother, Kazuki?"_

_The next thing he knew, he was crashing into the ground. The impact caused him to release the jutsu. The smoke dispersed in time for him to see another version of him perform a kawarimi with a log._

Was that Kazuki? Where does he get all those random twigs?

_He was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard the shout, "DAMMIT SASUKE. GET OUT OF HERE!" Scrambling up, he realized he was standing behind the impersonator/Itachi, who was still facing Kazuki. Biting his lip, he eyed the back of their attacker and hesitated._

" _I TOLD YOU, IT'S NOT ITACHI! RUN!"_

 _Before he could react, the impersonator/Itachi hurled a wall of shuriken at Kazuki. Starting forward in a desperate attempt to shield his brother and_ do something _, he was caught off balance when a set of red eyes with_ that black pattern _filled his vision._

_He heard his brother intone, "Mangekyou sharingan!"_

_A grisly arc of blood spatter on broken screen doors. A flashing sword swinging down, silencing choked screams. Bodies hit the floor in hollow thuds. Familiar faces mouthing silent words. The auntie from the bakery with blood burbling forth, frothy pink from the mouth. Light fading from gazes so blank. The sudden collapse, black hair falling gracelessly across white skin– it was his mother, his mother crying, tears streaming down, his father's choked gasp, red mixing in black upon the clan fan, and his mother crying out below Itachi's impassive face-"It's ok. Sasuke! It's ok – can you hear me? Sasuke, answer me! SASUKE!"_

_He coughed, vaguely aware of his sore throat. Blinking rapidly, he gradually realized that Kazuki was crouched over him. When had he fallen?_

_Suddenly, it was Itachi standing over him with frighteningly blank expression, swinging down with a kodachi._

_He shrieked. Abruptly, Itachi disappeared and was replaced with Kazuki again._

_Swallowing, he swiveled his head around in a panic, searching for Itachi. Spotting Itachi only a few paces away, he twisted to confirm that Kazuki was still there, only to see nothing. A sudden thud to his right made him whip his head around in time to see Kazuki lying in a heap against a storefront wall, with Itachi steadily approaching his brother._

_What had happened?_

_Remembering to breath, he sucked in mouthfuls of air and realized that Itachi was much too close to Kazuki. Frantically, he forced himself onto all fours. Limbs quivering, he managed to get one foot under him and looked up in time to see Itachi already there and lifting Kazuki by his collar to slam him against the stone wall, "Stop it!"_

_His voice was hoarse._

_Why wasn't his body obeying him? Why was Itachi doing this? Blinking away the tears that threatened, he struggled to his feet and croaked out desperately, "Why?"_

_His brother stood there, motionless with one hand immobilizing his other brother._

Those eyes, there was nothing in them.  _It reminded him of that impassive expression in the face of his mother's desperate cries._

_Gritting his teeth, Sasuke choked out, "Why did you…?"_

" _To measure my capacity."_

To measure his capacity?

.

.

" _No," Sasuke shook his head in denial, "No."_ What did that even mean?It wasn't; it couldn't -. 

.

_"You're not my brother. You're not –"_

_Dark eyes stared relentlessly back, as if their owner wasn’t choking another person. "The brother you wanted to spend time with has done this to measure_ your _capacity. I acted like your companion to see your potential. Your hate for me, your desire to surpass me,_ your _capacity… those are the reasons I will let you live, so that you can be like me."_

_Sasuke listened with increasing horror.  Bile rising, he closed his eyes and shook his head back and forth. This wasn't happening. The denial escaped him before he even realized he had opened his mouth, "NO!"_

" _Sasuke! Don't listen to him! He's not Itachi."_

_He looked up just to see that Itachi had redirected his attention back to Kazuki._

" _Kazuki on the other hand…"_

 _He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as ice creeped down his body._ No.

 _Itachi lowered his head, "I don't think …you have the capacity._ Mangekyou sharingan. _"_

.

.

_He ran forward, desperate to do something, to stop this from happening, to end this nightmare – to protect the brother he had always watched over._

*

"Shikaku."

Shikaku turned. Seeing that Inoichi's eyes were opened, he released his shadows.

"We need to see the Hokage. The Uchiha compound has been attacked."

Startled, Shikaku furrowed his brows before nodding, trusting Inoichi to inform him of the news on the way to the administrative tower. As he nodded, Inoichi turned back to Chouza, "Can you guard the children? Kazuki may be a target."

Chouza's eyes darkened before giving Inoichi an affirmative grunt.

*

By the time he was able to go home, the birds had already begun to chirp. Careful of the boy's bandaged feet, Chouza hefted Naruto higher against his shoulder and opened the door. Entering quietly, he stifled a yawn as he closed and locked the door. Hopefully, Chiharu wouldn't mind hosting a guest for a few days.

He turned only to stop in surprise at the sight of his son sitting in the foyer, asleep against the wall.

He had forgotten that his son would be waiting for news. What was he going to tell his son?

At his sigh, Chouji stirred and opened his eyes. Seeing his father, he shot up and scampered over to hug his father. Wrapped around his father's leg, he looked up as he suddenly noticed the presence of Naruto.

Noting how his son’s arms tightened, Chouza leaned down to pick up his son.

"Something bad happened didn't it?"

Chouza hugged his son tighter and nodded. Toeing off his sandals, he stepped onto the wood floors. As he slowly made his way down the hall, Chouji shifted, "Is Kazuki ok?"

Chouza frowned. Climbing the stairs, he finally answered, "I don't know." Entering Chouji's room, he set both boys on the bed and begun pulling out blankets from Chouji's closet, "The medics seemed to think so."

He placed Naruto on the makeshift bed before turning to Chouji, who was visibly upset. "Let's talk more in the morning ok? Get some rest." He pulled back the covers for Chouji.

However, instead of climbing under the covers, Chouji hopped off the bed.

Startled, Chouza watched in interest as Chouji walked over to his desk and pulled open the bottom drawer. Rummaging in the back of the drawer, his son took a moment to find what appeared to be a scroll.

He waited with equal parts patience and concern as his son just appeared to stand in front of the desk, lost in thought. Just as he was about to speak, Chouji turned to face him, clutching the scroll tightly with both hands.

"Kazuki … He told me to give this scroll to you… if …anything happened… to him."

*

Kabuto looked up as Atsushi burst into the room.

"Oh! Kabuto-kun! You're here this early?"

Kabuto nodded, nonplussed, as the Chief Medical Officer bounded over, "Terrific! Can you take a look at this then?"

Accepting the package and documents that were shoved in his direction, Kabuto blinked as the man continued to ramble, "It's amazing! I've never seen anything like it. They discovered remnants of it in a patient's mouth, you know?"

Placing the package on the desk, Kabuto began to flip through what appeared to be lab results as Atsushi continued to gesture excitedly at him, "I managed to get the labs to rush an analysis of the substance. If you could let me know what you think of it, that'd be spectacular! Your insights are the best of anyone here, you know!"

Patting the boy's back, Atsushi dashed out of the room with, "Thanks! I'll see you later!"

Kabuto looked at the package with interest. If the Chief Medical Officer didn't recognize the substance…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chiharu's the name of Chouji's mother's voice actor. (I know, unoriginal). Chief medical officer was taken off of a baby dictionary.


	7. Ashes

Standing up, Sarutobi Hiruzen winced at the sound of his joints popping. He was getting too old to sit through midnight jounin council meetings. Rubbing his knuckles in an effort to stimulate circulation in his cold hands, he made his way across the room and closed the door to the office.

The sky was only just beginning to brighten. The lamps had long been extinguished, leaving the room in the shades of grey that was only possible under dim lighting.

"I assume you heard everything."

In a shadowed corner of the room, a dark figure materialized.

Sarutobi marveled at the boy's skill. If he hadn't seen the paw print inked on the corner of his desk, he would have thought that he was alone in the room. With a pang of regret for everything that had been lost in the past few hours, he studied the pale features of the Itachi's face as the boy, finally assured of their privacy, took a step out from the shadows and knelt. Putting down his pipe, Sarutobi leaned against his desk tiredly, "What happened?"

Eyes cast on the ground, Itachi answered with a low voice, "Danzo-sama."

Sarutobi sharpened his gaze. Ever the perfect shinobi, there was nothing in Itachi's stance that gave a clue to the boy's thoughts.

"He left the plans to Madara."

Sarutobi blinked. Had he heard correctly? Pulling all-nighters didn't usually affect his hearing. Removing his reading glasses, he rubbed his eyes.

"Madara. Uchiha Madara." It was a statement, posed as a question.

Itachi raised his head from its bowed position. The negligible but noticeable departure from shinobi etiquette was a sign that the boy hadn't expected his reaction. From the boy's searching glance, it wasn't too difficult to discern what must have happened. Watching Itachi turn his glance aside, he suspected the boy must have arrived to the same conclusions as he had.

The benefit, and tragedy, of having two highly intelligent shinobi who shared common beliefs holding a conversation, was that few words were ever needed. This dearth of communication saved time and fertilized the grounds for misunderstandings to take root.

The boy had sent a warning about the legendary figure that clearly never reached his hands.

Fury clogged his throat. Finally, he managed an apology, "I'm sorry."  _For not preventing this, for allowing Danzo to intercept your message._

In the dim lighting, Sarutobi couldn't be sure whether or not he saw Itachi's lips tighten minutely, before the boy ducked his head, "Protect them – my brothers, please."

The words, softly worded, were solemnly stated. If it was any other person, the desperation in those words wouldn't have been discernible. But for Sarutobi, who had watched the boy's impassivity for the past few months with growing concern, it was almost physically painful to see.

Itachi spoke again, "I agree with Shikaku-san's assessment."

 _'_ _No doubt, rumors will reach the other nations by the end of the next two weeks. They'll be waiting and watching to see how we have been weakened, and they'll expect a show of force. If Konoha appears weak, treaty or no treaty, Kumo and Iwa will attack, and with our history, Suna will "hesitate" to come to our aid.'_

"However, he neglected to mention the political fallout within the village." Itachi licked his lips and caught Sarutobi's eyes from beneath his lowered lashes, "I know, the sharingan's allure won't be ignored – can't be ignored." The boy took a breath, "…But, as Hokage, shield them. Defend them. Don't allow them to be used before they're ready."

Taken aback by Itachi's directness, Sarutobi was further discomfited when Itachi shifted his weight onto both knees. To Sarutobi's growing horror, the boy placed both hands on the floor and pressed his forehand to the ground to carefully and quietly enunciate, "Kazuki and Sasuke. …They are only four years older than your grandson. I beg you, do what I cannot and protect them."

He stayed there for half a beat before adding, " _Please_."

With self-disgust constricting his throat, Sarutobi rasped out, "I will."

Before he could say more, Itachi raised his head and met his gaze from behind his bangs, "Especially from Danzo."

Noting the missing honorific, Sarutobi's eyes hardened, "Of course." He wondered if the boy was mincing words because the man had been a former teammate.

Almost as if he was testing Sarutobi, the boy held his position and added, " _All_  sharingan users may be a target."

Curious, Sarutobi ventured, "You mean Kakashi."

Itachi nodded.

Wondering about the source of the boy's concern, Sarutobi waited. When the silence stretched, he knew an explanation wouldn't be forthcoming. Aware of the morning's time constraints and the futility of pushing the boy, he relented and offered, "I'll alert Jiraiya."

Turning his back to Itachi, he walked behind his desk and pulled out a thick black envelope. Sunlight was beginning to inch into the room, introducing color as it crept past the window. Itachi, however, remained monotone with his pale skin and black ANBU under armour.

This was it.

He tossed the package to Itachi and walked to the window, "I'll stall the investigation for as long as I can. However, as you heard, Kakashi-kun and Gai-kun were the first on scene and Nara Shikaku was one of the men who found your brothers. Most likely, I'll only be able to offer you a week before declaring you as a missing-nin."

"I understand."

"Good luck." He turned around to see Itachi stand. Both of them knew that this would most likely be Itachi's final mission for the village and the last time they would be able to have direct contact without endangering Itachi's position as a spy.

He started to turn back to the window when he heard a whispered, "Thank you."

He stared at the now empty space and heard his knuckles crack as he clenched his hands into two fists.

_Forgive me._

His moment of introspection was broken by a sudden instinct to step to the side. A split second later, the window was slammed open and a blur of green, grey, and black tumbled into the room.

He watched as Gai made one more lunge at Kakashi, who ducked, before realizing where he was. Immediately, Gai leaped up and started bowing repeatedly while spewing out apologies, "I'm sorry Hokage-sama – I didn't realize, I –"

Holding up a hand, he cut off the man's ramblings. Behind Gai, Kakashi stood in his customary slouch. A slight flush at the tips of his ears was the only indication of his embarrassment. His eyes were otherwise half lidded in a bored expression. A hint of soot, too evenly shaded to be a bruise, decorated his forehead, marring his otherwise pristine appearance. Undoubtedly, their clothes from last evening had already been confiscated for the investigation.

Both of them gave no sign that they had been awake for over 24 hours.

Sighing with equal parts envy and irritation, Sarutobi made his way back around his desk. At least the two of them hadn't destroyed the window with their entrance. Idly, he couldn't help but wonder, would he have been able to give the same order he had given to Itachi to Kakashi – the man who he had witnessed grow up from being Minato's taciturn little shadow?

He watched both men straighten as he found his chair and sat.

Yes, he would.

Unsure if that was a comforting thought, he forcefully returned his mind to the matter at hand. Certain that the ink had dried, he flicked his hand to roll the document he had written just hours before into a scroll, which he then held out to Kakashi.

As Kakashi stepped forward to accept the scroll with both hands, Sarutobi spoke, "As you've both witnessed, the Uchiha clan is gone. We will do our best to delay this news from spreading."

He leaned forward and folded his hands under his chin, "However, other countries will learn of this soon." He gave Kakashi a significant look. The man had been through this once already.

"Damage control then?"

While Gai tensed and chanced a look at Kakashi, the speaker himself remained still. Even having watched the man grow up, Sarutobi was hard-pressed to discern what the masked man was thinking.

Sarutobi nodded, "Your mission has two parts." He held up one finger, "The first is to find Jiraiya and bring him back to the village."

Kakashi blinked.

Holding up a second finger, he continued, "The second is to build your reputations."

Seeing understanding and excitement dawn on Gai's face, he asked, "Do you have any questions?"

He waited as Kakashi unfurled the scroll for a brief scan over its contents. Gai looked on from behind Kakashi's right shoulder. Kakashi finally lowered the scroll, "We're being sent together?"

"Yes, you two start tomorrow. I understand you both still need to file a formal report for last night."

When they both nodded, he gave them a tired but sympathetic smile, "I'll let you both prepare then. Dismissed." Before the two of them could step toward the window, he added, "And take the stairs this time."

He swore he saw the outline of a pout beneath Kakashi's mask before the man was tugged into a sloppy bow by Gai. The men quickly left and he was soon left alone in his office.

He watched as the shadow cast by the hokage's hat developed a discernible edge.  _All this, before it was even six. Damn you Minato, for leaving me with this mess._

Huffing another sigh, he turned to the window. Scanning the village, he gave a rueful grin when his eyes landed on two familiar trees that he knew overlooked the women's springs. It would be nice to see his student again.

*

Kakashi hadn't missed the Hokage's deflection. Sending two shinobi on a mission wasn't out of the ordinary. However, sending the two of them together seemed a little odd.

Both of them had fairly strong presences. He had the sharingan and Gai was just… Gai. While he had no doubt in their ability to attract attention as a show of Konoha's power, sending the both of them together seemed an inefficient use of the village's resources.

Then, there was the timing. Gai had just left ANBU. Meanwhile, he had been carefully kept from taking on any missions for two months. If it weren't for Gai, he would have suspected that the Hokage had been purposefully letting him rest in preparation for this mission.

Trailing behind Gai, he barely managed to fight down another yawn and felt a moment of regret for his split decision to use the sharingan the previous night.

For a clan that had a strong natural affinity with fire, the smell of burnt wood sometimes lingered on the clan members. However, something about the scent that was carried by the wind that night was different and had caught his attention, leading him to what he would later discover to be the home of the clan head. By the time he had arrived, a steady blaze was visible from the rooftops, and his first thought had been that the fire was a hurried attempt to hide the evidence.

While there was the off-chance the fire was caused by accident, he had been determined not to lose anything that would allow the village to pursue its violator.

Having taken a quick breath, he had lifted his headband and rushed into the house. He had done his best to quickly scan the areas endangered by fire with his sharingan before sliding down his headband and summoning a Suiton Suiryudan to extinguish the fire.

Afterwards, between the water and fire damage, there had been very little left to examine in the house. It didn't help that both of his eyes had been irritated by the smoke either. The rest of the night had been filled with collecting reports from his ninken and comparing his findings with Gai. Surprisingly, despite the size of the compound, they had still been able to finish combing the scene before reinforcements arrived. He supposed, with a small amount of skepticism, that the delay could have been due to confusion over the curfew.

"Ah, Gai-san. It's good to see you. Do you mind if I borrow Kakashi-san for a moment"

He looked up as Gai released his arm and waved a greeting, "Shikaku-san, it's been awhile! Not a problem!" Turning, he patted Kakashi on the shoulder, "I'll see you tomorrow at the village gates?"

Once Kakashi nodded, Gai flashed him a grin and ran off.

It was somewhat reassuring to see Gai displaying some of that same energy from their childhood.

He was sure he'd regret thinking that in a few days. When he turned his head, Shikaku was at his side.

From the dark circles under his eyes, it looked like the man hadn't slept either.

"I understand you have a ninken named Pakkun?"

Startled and curious, Kakashi gave a short nod. He watched as Shikaku grunted and rummaged inside his jacket to pull out a small scroll. Taking the scroll when it was offered, Kakashi noted the question on the outside of the scroll with confused amusement:

**_What would unite five nations?_ **

He darted a quick glance at Shikaku, who only continued to watch him – presumably to see his reaction. He unrolled the scroll only to see two words at the center of the page.

**_Ask Pakkun_ **

Was this a joke? At this hour? He looked up and raised an eyebrow. Shikaku seemed too lazy to be purposefully cryptic.

Heaving a sigh of apparent disappointment, Shikaku reached behind to pull out another scroll, "The scroll was sealed within this one and given to Chouza."

Taking the second scroll, Kakashi noted the childish scrawl across the top,  ** _SECRET. Naruto, if you open this scroll, it won't work when we need it. Also, stay out of Chouji's stuff!_** Curiosity peaking, he tucked the first scroll under his armpit and unrolled the scroll. At the center of the page was the expected storage seal. However, there were two lines at the top and bottom margins, written in the more elegant script that he had seen in the first scroll,

**_Fostered flames may consume the Will of Fire._ **

**_Butterflies may land where deer may graze._ **

A faint sense of unease rising, he rolled back the second scroll and handed both scrolls back to Shikaku, "I don't understand."

Accepting one scroll but pushing back the first, Shikaku gave him a serious look, "Can you take another look? Nothing jumps out at you?"

With a shrug, he retracted his hand and unfurled the scroll again. As he raised the scroll to the sun for better light, Shikaku elaborated, "I heard you were the first on scene at the Uchiha compound."

Kakashi nodded before flipping the scroll upside down and raising the document once more to the sun.

"Apparently Uchiha Kazuki entrusted these scrolls to Chouza's son, to give to Chouza in the case that something happened to him."

Kakashi paused in the midst of repositioning the scroll, "Uchiha Kazuki – Itachi's brother?"

"Yes. Chouza gave the scroll to me when he saw the second line."

Kakashi peered over the top of the scroll.

"It's not exactly a secret, but it's usually only used on internal medical documents between the Nara and Akimichi." Shikaku rubbed his eyes, reminding Kakashi that the man probably hadn't slept the night before either, "I have some other ideas, but I figured you'd be leaving for a mission soon – so I wanted to catch you before you left."

Holding out the top of the scroll with one hand, Kakashi scratched the back of his head with the other, "I could summon Pakkun to see what he knows, but I haven't had any contact with the Uchihas until last night." With that he prepared to bite his thumb, only to stop and sniff.

_Ginger?_

_*_

"BLEEGGGHHHHACKKKKKKACK! GET OFFFFF YOU DUMB CAT!"

An almost equally loud yowl broke the morning ambience.

Clinging to the tiles, Chouji watched as Naruto fought with a black cat outside the second story hospital window. He knew this wasn't going to end well. Why had he decided to follow Naruto?

He watched as Naruto shoved the cat away before jerking with another loud howl as the cat scratched him. Though he inched towards the quarreling pair cautiously, he was still taken by surprise when the cat turned its attention onto him.

In the next instant, he somehow found himself crowded under Naruto, and plastered against the window. It was difficult to see anything with his cheeks pressed against the window, but he managed to make out a small figure approaching. The next thing he felt was his face sliding with the glass as the window opened. Naruto's presence behind him caused him to tumble head first into the room. Unfortunately, that meant he acted as the cushion for Naruto's landing. Through his wheezing, he was dimly aware of the cat streaking past the both of them down the hall.

He hoped they weren't about to get into trouble.

Naruto, recovering faster than him, leapt up ready to seek revenge on the cat only to startle back, "Sasuke!"

"What are you two doing?"

Finally regaining his breath, Chouji looked up from his place on the floor. Judging from the pillow creases on Sasuke's face, he guessed that the ruckus they had been making had woken Sasuke.

Naruto finally seemed to unfreeze from where he had been staring at Sasuke, like the boy had three heads. With a shout, he launched himself forward and grabbed Sasuke's arms with both hands. Taken aback, Sasuke let Naruto turn him from side to side. He quickly snapped out of it and shrugged Naruto off when the blond haired boy started to lift his bandaged arm, "Quit it you idiot!"

To his surprise, instead of retorting as he usually did, Naruto took a step back with an unreadable expression on his face.

"What's with you?"

Chouji watched, uncertain whether or not to intervene as the tension built.

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke took another step forward, impatient and uneasy, he asked, "Where's Kazuki? Have you guys seen him?"

At the question, Naruto seemed to shake himself. Drawing himself up, he snapped down in a sharp bow and apologized in a noticeably tight voice, "Sorry." Without another word, the boy then ran out the door.

For a second, Chouji thought that Sasuke was going to chase after Naruto. But instead, after taking a step and stumbling, Sasuke stopped. Bringing a hand up to clutch at his shoulder, the boy slowly turned to face Chouji with a scared expression.

"What happened?"

Chouji looked down at his hands. He wished he hadn't caught Naruto attempting to sneak out that morning or remembered the conversation that had followed.

"What's wrong with him? Where's Kazuki? What do you know?"

Chouji swallowed, "He blames himself."

Sasuke stared, "For what?" His shoulders were visibly tense.

"Didn't they tell you? Naruto's the one who found you guys." Chouji watched worriedly as a fine line of tremor started to develop on Sasuke's frame. Licking his dry lips, he continued, "He blames himself for not summoning you guys earlier."

Sasuke looked pale. It occurred to Chouji then that perhaps the reason Naruto had tried to enter the hospital from the window was because he knew that Sasuke wasn't supposed to be disturbed. He hoped he wasn't making a big mistake by answering Sasuke's questions. Sasuke stared at him with incomprehension, "Summoning?"

Chouji nodded slowly and was about to elaborate when Sasuke started asking more questions, "Tell me what? What were they supposed to tell me? And where's Kazuki – and my parents? I'm in the hospital aren't I?!" He removed the hand that was clutching his shoulder to tug at his hospital gown, as if to emphasize that fact.

Chouji stared with growing dismay at his situation.  _Sasuke really had_ just _woken up_. Morbidly curious and dreading the answer, he returned Sasuke questions with one of his own, "What's the last thing you remember?"

He watched as Sasuke seemed to stare at him with a blank expression. Then, ever so slightly, never breaking eye contact, Sasuke shook his head. The motion became greater as the denial in his face grew, "No."

Regretting his question as he watched Sasuke's breathing speed up, Chouji hurriedly stepped closer to Sasuke. He latched both arms around his classmate before the boy could bolt and awkwardly held on tightly.

It wasn't like he considered Sasuke a friend, so much as Kazuki's brother. He knew, or at least strongly suspected, that Sasuke didn't really think much of him – or Naruto. At the same time, between Naruto's instinctive pestering and Sasuke's familial connection to Kazuki, it was inevitable that he would spend a good amount of time with Sasuke.

Additionally, from the note his father had left him that morning, he knew that Kazuki was lying in the intensive care unit. There was nothing he could do for Kazuki there.

_But here…_

"Let go! I need to go! Mother and father are waiting, I SAID LET GO!"

Chouji said nothing. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew that Sasuke's mom was dead and that his dad was investigating Sasuke's home.

As Sasuke exhausted himself screaming, neither of the boys was aware of the cat slinking off from the edge of the doorway.

*

With a quick snap of the wrist, three incense sticks stabbed themselves into the sand amid dozens of other burning sticks. Itachi watched the smoke trail upwards for a moment before taking one of the temple's side exits and sitting down on the stone steps.

Slowly, he undid the tie and removed his headband to cradle it in his hands. He traced the village symbol engraved in the metal for a moment, committing the moment to memory. He briefly considered burying the headband, before common sense returned. It would be a waste not to use the power and symbolism behind an openly adorned marked headband, especially if he was setting out to join the Akatsuki.

He set his headband beside him and drew out a kunai. Instead of a quick strike as he intended, he found himself slowly and painstakingly scratching a line across the insignia. For some reason, the movement reminded him of when he had thrust the sword into his father.

Hurriedly, he swallowed down nausea and donned the marked headband.

A plaintive meow alerted him to the presence of a black cat that soon emerged from the nearby shrubbery. Padding quietly over, the cat started to butt up against Itachi's knee. He held one hand out for the cat to rub its face against and listened as the feline's rumbles immediately grew louder.

He felt some of the tension leave him as he received confirmation that one of his brothers had woken. Despite his caution during the skirmish and listening in on the reports made by the Jounin council to the Hokage, he still had feared that he had permanently injured Sasuke the night before.

Then there was Kazuki.

A small part of him was sickened at the thought of how close he had come to maiming his youngest brother, whom he had sworn to protect. A larger part of him was still in disbelief that the boy _was_  his brother.

Skills aside, every other sign seemed to confirm that the boy was his brother. The boy's movement, chakra, and words all seemed aligned with what he knew of his brother.

And yet, how did the boy have the Mangekyou?

It didn't make any sense. His brother had never been in the field; there was no setting for him to experience the emotional triggers necessary to activate his sharingan.

He knew he hadn't had much contact with his brother in recent months, so there was a very good chance that he had missed the signs. Still, it was a little difficult to reconcile the image of his laid back brother with someone who had activated the sharingan. Kazuki had always been difficult to rile. The closest he had ever seen Kazuki distraught was when the boy had those nightmares.

He also wouldn't have thought that Kazuki would continue acting as before after activating the sharingan. Most Uchiha who had the sharingan only became that mellow with age.

However, after having reexamined his memories of that night, Itachi was certain that his mother knew of Kazuki's sharingan and kept it a secret. Additionally, if his brother had activated his sharingan, it could plausibly explain why Kazuki could perform the kage bunshin and the kagemane techniques. If he continued along that line of thought, then the events of last night would also indicate that his brother had a much higher intelligence and chakra reserve that he had thought.

Having observed hints of the Kazuki's intelligence when he was younger, the idea that he was much smarter than Itachi had thought wasn't exactly a surprise. The fact that Kazuki had purposefully hidden his talents was. Moreover, why had his brother kept his skills a secret?

All of his hypotheses relied on Kazuki being much more aware of village politics than a boy of his age could be.

As the cat made its fifth pass around his hand, he reached out to rub its ears. Shrinking from his touch, the cat sat back and shook its head quickly.

He frowned. So Kazuki was still asleep?

The cat froze in the middle of scratching its ear with its hindquarters.

"Are you ready to go?"

At the deep voice, the cat streaked into the bushes.

Itachi held himself still. He hadn't sensed the man's approach at all. Masking his surprise, he asked, "You thought I'd go with you?"

"Haven't you confirmed their safety?"

A chill ran up Itachi's spine. For a moment, mourning the loss of his parents and stewing over the mystery surrounding his brothers, he had forgotten that he had attracted the attention of one of Konoha's legends and the threat that such a legend carried.

"Did I scare off your ninneko before it could finish its report?"

The innocent amusement in the man's voice grated on Itachi's nerves. He turned to face the man. As he eyed the man's orange and black mask, he was jarringly reminded of what he had seen when he had used the mangekyou on Kazuki.

The proportions of the masked man in the vision matched the man before him. However, in that vision, there had been another man, slightly taller, who matched the historical descriptions of Madara down to the man's wardrobe.

As he scrutinized the man before him wordlessly, a sense of freefalling swept through him.

What if, the man before him, wasn't Madara?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Conception Notes:**  
>  Sarutobi & Itachi: Originally, Sarutobi asked how Itachi could forgive the village and Itachi replied with another question – how had Sarutobi forgiven the Uchiha clan for Biwako? I also thought about how Itachi would be acting the morning after the confusion. Would he ask about his brothers? How distraught would he be? Additionally, as a village elder, how the heck does Sarutobi react to the loss of an asset such as Itachi? There was a lot that I ended up taking out and even more that I tried to hint at. Hopefully, the scene made sense.
> 
> Blaming Itachi: So I think the initial blame would have landed on Itachi no matter what. The last character witness was Sasuke. From the initial body count, Itachi's absence would have been notable. Coupled together with the fact that there were few candidates who could perform the Mangekyou, his missing presence would have been very suspicious. Additionally, I feel like the village elders would have preferred to lay the blame at his feet. If it got out that this was a bit of a village versus clan thing, the other clans would probably protest out of unease (somewhat similar to the federal vs. state political power struggle type of deal). However, Kazuki's interference has led to some key differences, which I hope came across well. The first is that Danzo and Obito rushed things. The second is that Itachi was surprised and unsettled. The third was that the first responders on the scene were not Danzo's men. I'll stop my train of thought there to avoid spoilers. But, hopefully this eases the initial disappointment that Itachi hasn't been cleared of the murders.
> 
> Ninneko: Who else noticed the cat that startled Sasuke when he first returned home in the anime? After having Kazuki disappear on Itachi, I thought it'd be strange if Itachi, who basically sacrificed everything to save his brothers, didn't confirm that his brother's were ok. Hence, ninneko.


	8. Ignition

_Of the samples you sent, only twenty-seven possessed the eyes; of those, only two were AB+. With such limited samples, I cannot assure you of any results._

_Trees are stifled when they have only potted soil with which to root themselves – as I'm sure you're aware. Moreover, the lone patient I have can only survive so many transplantations to find these eyes and I'm afraid I've quite exhausted his abilities to recuperate. I fear he will soon take his leave._

_Looking forward to your reply,  
A Step Before Four_

Danzo stared at the final signed words of the missive with annoyance. As if he needed a reminder of who he was corresponding with – hmph.

He crushed the missive in one hand and tossed the balled document into the open flame hovering in the bronze brazier. Watching the edges of the paper blacken and shrivel, he considered the ramifications of handing over the remaining bodies of the Uchiha clan to Orochimaru.

The faster they were out of his hands and out of Konoha, the less likely they would cause trouble. At the same time, Orochimaru was hardly trustworthy. The fool had let himself be discovered with those sixty children – and all before he had isolated the secret behind successful Senju cell transplantation. Sloppy.

Still, he needed that man.

He lifted the bandage covering his palm. The skin underneath was still visibly inflamed. The eye at the center of his hand was swollen shut. With some effort, he managed to get the eye to peer open for half a second before letting it fall shut. Realizing that his breath had started to pick up, he quickly controlled his breathing. He didn't want to show any sign of weakness, even if he was in front of his men.

Readjusting the bandages on his hand, he shouldered his right arm back into his black sleeve and stood. It was a true pity he hadn't managed to convince the Hatake brat to come under his tutelage. Gaining his own sharingan had given him a much greater appreciation of that child's brilliance.

Closing his eyes, he basked in the warmth of the open flame and mulled over his options.

He loathed the idea of freely handing over the rest of the bodies. As he was reminded of the scrutiny that the investigation over the massacre faced, he remembered the other problem that was plaguing him.

Madara.

It was strange and alarming that a legend from the village's past was once again haunting them as a living specter. Nevertheless, as much as he had distrusted the Uchihas, he would have to be blind not to acknowledge Itachi's mental acuity and talent in foresight.

It was really the only option he had at the moment. If the boy felt that he had forestalled Madara's interest in the destruction of the village, then he'd just have to take advantage of the reprieve and prepare the village for the day Madara's interest returned _._

He opened his eyes and strode towards the exit.

Madara wasn't the only imminent threat faced by the village. Reports of the Akatsuki were growing more disquieting by the month. While he was sure Itachi would manage to occupy and direct their attention to an extent, he needed to make his own contingency plans.

He swept through the doors and made his way into the brightly lit chambers of the Hokage tower. There were rumors that the Akatsuki wanted the tailed beasts. If that was true, then the group would most likely want to start with the Ichibi, as the theoretically weakest and thus easiest to control of the tailed beasts.

It was just his luck that the last report about the Ichibi had pinpointed the demon in Suna.

Given that Suna bordered Ame, he was sure that Hanzo wouldn't fail to take the opportunity to finally shut down the Akatsuki if they came to Suna for the Ichibi. It was just an added bonus that a weakened Suna would increase the flow of mission requests from the Land of the Waves to Konoha.

He shouldered past another bespectacled genin and ignored the silver haired boy's apology as he climbed up the steps to the falconry tower.

This could work. As long as Orochimaru failed to present the sharingan eyes and Senju cells compatible to him, this would serve as a reminder to that snake-obsessed child that his secret patronage was not without limits.

Quickly, he scrawled out his counter offer using the common supplies provided in the tower. At his hand signal, both a falcon and ROOT operative appeared.

With a twisted smile, he tied the scroll to the falcon's leg and released the bird out the window. He turned his back to the window, knowing the operative would ensure that the bird would escape general notice.

He was sure Orochimaru's snakes would appreciate his messenger.

"Danzo."

He looked up and immediately felt like grimacing. Keeping his face passive, he tilted his head just the slightest inch downwards, "Hokage-sama."

Beneath the cover of his hat, Hiruzen rumbled, "Am I?"

Danzo held his breath.

"To you, am I really the Hokage?"

Danzo ducked his head further, "I don't know what you mean." Under lowered lids, he darted his eyes back and forth. They were alone.

"Then explain it to me. Why conceal Madara's existence from me? Moreover, what gave you the authority to authorize the execution of the entire Uchiha clan?!"

It had been a long time since Danzo had heard such menace from Hiruzen. He raised his head, "Madara. Uchiha Madara?"

Hiruzen stared at him, distinctly unimpressed.

Danzo wondered what the Hokage knew, or thought he knew. It was unlikely that his former teammate had any proof of his tampering with official communications – the man wouldn't have waited until now to confront him if he did. Furthermore, Hiruzen wouldn't be confronting him like this if there was concrete evidence of his involvement. Narrowing his eyes, in a low graveled tone he continued, "Perhaps I should be asking what it is you have been concealing from the council."

Undeterred, Hiruzen sharpened his glare, "Your involvement has endangered the village-"

"My involvement has  _saved_  this village."

"So you do not deny your hand in this."

Danzo brought both of his hands to rest over the top of his walking stick, "Time was running out.  _Someone_  had to make the call."

At the veiled slight, Hiruzen tightened his left hand into a fist under the cover of his sleeve. "That wasn't your call to make, just as it wasn't your call to declare Itachi a missing-nin."

Danzo scoffed, "Did we not decide to declare the boy a missing-nin from the onset of this whole operation?"

"Yes, however-"

"Do you intend to ignore your advisors' counsel then?"

"No-"

"Then I acted within my bounds."

Hiruzen gritted out the words, "You  _acted_  prematurely. You leapt without looking that night and tossed away lives needlessly."

Danzo suppressed the impulse to roll his eyes, "You're still a hopeless optimist."

"The talks were working."

"You thought a festival was going to fix years of discontent? Don't be ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous is the investigation that's been carried out."

"Is there a point to this?" Danzo watched suspiciously as Hiruzen seemed to regain his composure.

"The point is that you were  _sloppy_  Danzo. You were impatient and rushed – and you can't erase what's already been seen by people such as our valued jounin commander." Hiruzen gave him a feral grin, "The  _point_  is, you have my attention. Was that what you were looking for?"  _Was that a reference to ROOT?_

Having spoken, the leader of the village left the room without as much as a whisper to mark his exit.

Danzo let out a slow breath.  _Hiruzen,_   _was that supposed to be a threat or a warning?_

_I would have thought you knew me better by now. Warnings are only effective when coupled with a preemptive strike._

_*_

Inoichi frowned. What he was doing was borderline illegal.

However, he agreed with his old teammates that the events of the past month were undeniably strange. The slaughter of a clan as exalted and treasured as the Uchiha would unquestionably motivate a fast investigation. Still, he would have expected the investigation to take longer than six days.

The collection of evidence alone should have taken two weeks – maybe a week if all of the morgue technicians and investigative staff were involved and working around the clock. However, with new incoming cases, some commissioned by daimyos, occupying the attention of the investigative team, that type of total dedication to a single case should have been impossible. Additionally, working around the clock was generally discouraged since it often led to mistakes and misfiled reports. Not to mention, he doubted some of the equipment could handle the strain of working for that long without rest.

The collection of evidence took three days. Processing took two. The announcement declaring the only member missing from the body count as the sole person responsible for the attack was released the next day.

Even though the teen blamed for the attack was only thirteen, Itachi's reputation had preceded him and few questioned the fast pronouncement of guilt.

He paused in the alcove and pretended to be preoccupied with reading the scroll in his hands as another clerk passed him. A moment later, he stepped out of the archives room and headed for the exit.

He would have been among the masses that accepted the report. The problem was that  _his_  words were referenced to support the conclusions listed in the official report. His words and the words of his friends had all been used to describe the whole massacre as an open and shut case of genius descending into insanity.

However, the report failed to address the issues that he knew he had raised within his own report; and after conferring with both of his friends, he knew he wasn't the only one whose concerns hadn't been addressed, or even mentioned, in the official records. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have been bothered enough to take action. There was always a chance that something had been discovered that couldn't be disclosed to the general public.

However, after learning about Chouza's scroll, he hadn't been able to shake the impulse to learn more. For one, Chouza's son was involved. As a friend and a father, he couldn't ignore his protective instincts to uncover the details and confirm whether or not there was a threat to his family and friends. Two, the scrolls simply reeked of intrigue that no civilian, Academy-student or not, should be able to produce. As a member of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force, it was against everything he had ever learned to even try to overlook the matter.

Anko had once joked with a lascivious grin that "poke and prod" should be their slogan, since none of them would, or rather could, stop when others would. He just hoped he wasn't prodding the wrong dragon.

Stepping onto Shikaku's porch, he knocked three times before letting himself in. As he stepped inside, he saw Yoshino tucking away a cleaver under her wheelchair.

One-legged or not, that woman scared him. Ignoring his greetings, Yoshino hollered at the staircase, "Shikaku, Inoichi's here! I'll be in the backyard."

In one practiced movement, she spun the chair to face Inoichi, "Dust your feet off before you step any further. Shikaku can't dust for shit and guest or no guest, I  _will_  come after you if I have to clean the floors." She paused and grinned fiercely, "After all, we're practically family, aren't we?"

With a nod and a smirk, she left him where he stood.

"Huh. Guess today's been a good day." Inoichi turned slowly to see Shikaku watching him with both arms draped lazily over the bannister.

"That was a good day?"

Shikaku grinned.

Shaking his head, Inoichi carefully tugged off his sandals. Inspecting his feet for any sign of dirt that he could have tracked in, he asked, "Is Chouza already in?"

"Mmhmm. Were you able to find the reports?"

Finishing dusting off his feet, Inoichi stepped onto the wood floors and made his way over to the staircase, "Yeah, here. I made a copy." So saying, he tossed the documents up.

"Did you learn anything new about the scrolls?" He followed Shikaku into the study and saw Chouza sitting at the desk.

Shikaku nodded absent mindedly, and waved a hand at Chouza to elaborate as he scanned the documents that he had been given.

Reaching behind him, Chouza took out the familiar two scrolls, "Remember how Kakashi had detected traces of ginger on these scrolls?"

Inoichi nodded.

Chouza grinned sheepishly, "Well, I think we overthought the problem."

Inoichi furrowed his brows, "Overthought?"

Chouza nodded, "What color is pickled ginger?"

Completely confused, Inoichi hesitantly answered, "Pink?"

Chouza nodded, "I'm not sure how he applied the ginger to the scroll, but if you brush vinegar over the surface, you get this." Chouza held up the unfurled document with both hands. On it, Inoichi could barely make out very faint pink lines underneath the inked "Ask Pakkun". The lines reminded him of the pink afterimages he'd see when he would try to read official documents right after staring at Gai's jumpsuit.

Chouza elaborated, "It's a bit faded now, but if you look carefully, you can make out the characters for 'oak beside female springs'. It took a while, but we found this buried under that oak."

Inoichi looked at the third scroll that was spread flat on the table, "You're kidding." An array of what appeared to be random characters was written at the center of the scroll.

Another riddle.

Chouza laughed, "Relax, Shikaku thinks he's solved the riddle."

At the sound of this name, Shikaku looked up. When he saw that he hadn't been called, he directed his attention to Inoichi, "Have you read this?"

Inoichi nodded with a twisted smile. For Chouza's benefit, he summarized, "The final report also omitted Kakashi and Maito's analyses; they were the first ones on scene. Although they both suspected an Uchiha killed the clan, Kakashi believes he saw wounds on the body destroyed in the fire that suggest that the presence of a second perpetrator. I suspect the two compared notes, because it seemed like Maito made an effort to point out a few other cases at the compound where it looked like the bodies could have been moved after their deaths."

Hearing this, Chouza looked at Shikaku, "What are your thoughts?" Curious as well, Inoichi turned to face Shikaku and leaned back against the desk.

Shikaku sighed and walked over to the desk. He placed the copied records in front of Chouza, "The only new detail that this account might provide is that the second attacker was not as involved as the first."

Grabbing a cushion, he waved off Chouza's attempt to give him the chair and took a seat on the ground, "Kakashi was careful to describe the two wounds he saw on the clan head and how he suspected that a mercy killing had taken place."

Inoichi frowned, "I thought he mentioned that he was basing his conjectures on a brief glance."

Shikaku nodded, "Right, but if you look carefully at his account, he later mentions that he had been using his sharingan."

Chouza leaned forward, "Why did he suspect a mercy killing?"

"There was less blood around the second wound centered over the heart than the first, centered over the stomach."

Chouza sat back with a look of revulsion, "Mikoto had the same wounds."

Shikaku nodded, "The issue is, if this was a mercy killing, it would make more sense for Itachi to be the second attacker suggested by both Kakashi and Gai's accounts. 'Attacker' may not even be the right word to use."

Recalling the protests of Kazuki that he had seen in Sasuke's memories, Inoichi felt his stomach began to knot. Grimacing as he started to see the implications of Shikaku's words, Inoichi started, "So the authorities are hiding the existence of the actual perpetrator with Itachi as a scapegoat?"

"The boy may have agreed."

Inoichi jerked back, "What? To killing his parents?"

Frustrated, Shikaku ran a hand over the top of his head, "No. I don't know. Possibly."

Inoichi gaped, "Why - ?"

"He is, was, ANBU." Shikaku rubbed his forehead, "He would know that leaving the scene would make him appear suspicious. Additionally, with his skills, it wouldn't have been too difficult for him to protest his innocence."

At this point, Chouza chimed in with a troubled look, "This… could also explain why Kazuki-kun was left alive."

Inoichi looked at Chouza, "Did Chouji ever say why Kazuki-kun thought something was going to happen to him?"

Chouza shook his head, "No. On that note, Shikaku, didn't you say you thought you'd determined the message behind the riddle?"

Shikaku stood up with a groan, "It really isn't much of a message - very similar to the previous scrolls." Reaching the desk, he leant over to grab a pen. Gesturing, he explained, "It's a standard cipher."

Sketching out lines on a separate piece of paper, he showed how the characters could be realigned.

Inoichi leaned over, curious, "Shattered vessels unite five nations to break the God-Tree."

"The Shinju," Shikaku corrected, "Also known as the Juubi."

"There's a Juubi? I thought the Kyuubi had the highest number of tails."

Shikaku shrugged, "Anko-san had recognized the name."

Inoichi frowned, "You talked to Anko-san about this?"

"She saw me playing around with the words. Speaking of," Shikaku leant over the scroll again and circled the first lines of words that had been cast to the side by the cipher.

Chouza laughed, "A play on homophones?"

Right beside the characters that sounded like a certain village elder's name were five numbers: 1, 8, 7, 8, and 2. Inoichi sounded out the characters, "Dan-zo-i-ya-na-ya-tsu; Danzo, unpleasant guy?" He glanced up, expecting to see a reluctant but triumphant smirk on Shikaku's face.

"What's wrong?"

Shikaku glanced at him with raised eyebrows.

Gesturing vaguely at his face, Inoichi explained, "You looked troubled. Do you have something else you want to share?"

Shikaku twisted his mouth for a moment as he thought before shaking his head slowly.

"Spit it out."

Shikaku looked up.

Going with his instinct, Inoichi crossed his arms, "You want me to look into the boy's head, don't you?"

Holding his gaze, Shikaku replied, "He's recovered enough for it to be safe."

*

Urgency clawed the back of his throat.  _Sasuke. Needtofind-havetomove-can't – Sasuke_

_Sasuke_

_SASUKE._ He could feel the ends of his fingers tingling even as the pressure in his head built with his growing desperation to  ** _MOVE_** _._

He sat up with a gurgled shout, "SA-Ghackack". He was coughing even as he mouthed the first syllable. As he shook with the coughs, a sharp pain in his left shoulder bloomed. Shutting his eyes ( _when were they open?_ ), he collapsed back onto the bed, turned to his right side, and drew his body into a tight curl.

Gradually, the pain faded even as the coughs continued. Where was he?

 _'_ _WHAT'S GOING ON?'_

Right, Naruto had pulled through with the summoning, just as –

 _'_ _Who are you?" A blurred sight of two moonlit tear tracks._

–he had been pinned by Itachi. His coughs eased, leaving him to gasp in shallow breaths.

He had knelt in his mother's blood. Sasuke was on the ground. He had said goodbye.

Four years of preparation.

Had he … failed? "Sa…suke."

He opened his eyes.

"He's fine."

He stiffened. But before he could protest, he found himself being gently maneuvered into a sitting position. A paper cup was pressed against his lips, causing him to instinctively take the object in his face with his right hand. Seeing the crushed ice at the bottom of the cup, he quickly tilted the cup back and immediately felt cool relief in his dry mouth.

Lowering the cup, ready to thank the nurse, he was caught by surprise at the sight of a familiar face.

_Dad...?_

The man was wearing a ragged deer skin vest that he hadn't seen for years (since the Fourth World War) over the standard issue green flak jacket. He remembered how soft the vest had felt against his fingertips.

How long had it been? The laugh lines were fainter; his hairline, lower.

For a moment, all he could remember was the touch of Ino's father's mind against his own.

_I'm proud of you… Shikamaru._

But…

this wasn't his  _dad_ , and this wasn't his father.

And yet he was more of a father than his own had ever been. His own father had bled out on the floor of his own home. His dad was back ( _and maybe he could fix everything again)_  but gone  _again_ at the same time.

He didn't realize he had been inching away until he hit the bars bordering the head of the bed. He didn't realize the words were tumbling out of his own mouth until he heard them, "Who are you?"

As the man's concerned expression registered, he realized that his breathing had been getting faster. Ducking his head, he let his hair fall around to frame his face, hiding his expression from the man. He blinked rapidly, and for a moment, it felt like reality had reasserted itself again.

Then the man spoke, "You don't know?"

He pressed himself harder against the metal bar, letting the pain in his shoulder ground him from the achingly familiar sound of the man's voice. Keeping his head down, he jerkily shook his head.

He heard the man lean away.

"I'm a friend of Chouji's father – Nara Shikaku."

He held himself in that position, tense. He could almost feel what he imagined would be an expectant stare weighing down on the back of his head.  _What do I say? Why was he here? (Could he makeeverythingalright? Maybeitwasalljustabaddream)-._

The sharp clack of wood on wood interrupted his inner thoughts. He looked up. The man was sitting a short distance from his bed at a small collapsible metal table, playing what appeared to be a game of shogi by himself.

He waited for the man to say something. But as minutes passed, when Shikaku just continued to snap pieces onto the board, he felt himself gradually uncurl. Releasing his hold over his knees, he grabbed his left arm to hold it in place, as he leant closer to the side of the bed.

Despite himself, his fingers itched to hold a shogi piece once more across the board from his dad- _no, across from Shikaku_.

His swallow was nearly audible in the silence, causing him to finally study his surroundings. Curtains partitioned off the area and provided an illusory sense of privacy. Had the hospital changed the color of the curtains since the last time he had been here?

Reminded of the last time he had woken in a cordoned off section, he glanced around for a calendar. When he saw nothing on the wall, he turned to study his guest with trepidation, but the man just continued to study the board in front of him.

"What's the date?"

Without looking up, Shikaku replied, "You've been asleep for a month."

 _A month?!_  He supposed he should have expected that. It had just been instinct to respond to Itachi's mangekyou with his own.  _What had happened to Itachi?_

Could he ask? Did he want the answer?

He watched as his dad moved the pawn forward, forming a familiar formation.

He knew the answer.

He just didn't know what to do.

Four years.

He had been trying for four years and it ended like this.

"Do you know how to play?"

 _Do I know how to play?_  He recalled a sleepless night, sitting in front of the moonlit board, going through strategy after strategy, determined to take down the sadist that had killed his sensei.

Unlike now, he had Hidan to target. Unlike now, he had been desperately trying to prevent his family from dying.

It felt like his strings had been cut. Who was his target now? How did he avenge his family? How did he get his home back? Moreover…

.

…who was he?

.

Why did he have these memories ( _if nothing would change?!)_?

.

He shunted his thoughts to the side. Going into hysterics would be pointless, useless, and completely counterproductive ( _towhat? What was left?_ ). He'd been asked a question. Inching further to the side of the bed to better study the board, he collected his thoughts.

"What if you knew your opponent was going to dismantle your Mino castle by taking your rook?"

He watched the man carefully, but the adult still didn't look up, "I'd move my rook."

Checking the board, Kazuki plotted the moves that the man could take, "What if… you knew that your opponent was aware of your plans to sacrifice your pawn to save your rook in the next five turns?"  _What am I saying…?_

At this question, Shikaku finally looked up. With a considering expression, the man answered, "My plans would change of course."

"So then, your opponent's knowledge would be useless."

"Considering it would be outdated, then yes. Perhaps."

Despite his nerves under those familiar set of black eyes, Kazuki yawned and immediately winced again.  _Why wasn't he on the good drugs?_

"I should let you rest."

He looked up when he heard the metal chair scrape against the floor as Shikaku stood.  _What was he thinking_?

Blinking away the sudden wave of fatigue, he stared up at the older man. He wasn't sure what the man saw in his expression, but the blank mask softened the slightest bit as the man's lips upturned the slightest degree.

"I'll visit you some other time."

 _What?_  Kazuki managed to croak out, "Sorry?" But by then, Shikaku was already exiting the door with a disturbingly thoughtful expression on his face.

*

Shikaku stared absentmindedly at the array of baked goods on display. He had meant to ask about the scrolls and the snippets of mishmashed memories Inoichi had seen. But he had been caught off guard by the boy's appearance and mannerisms.  _Pale skin and dark eyes, fingers curled into the off-white hospital sheets._

Something about the boy reminded him of Yoshino – after the miscarriage.

Stepping forward, he selected a few of the buns on the shelves and walked over to the register to pay.

Initially, experience with traumatized civilians had kept him quiet, to allow the boy time to adjust to his presence. He hadn't expected to attract the child's attention when he passed the time by playing shogi against himself, or for the child to pick apart the strategies he had been idly employing.

He didn't miss how the boy seemed to be asking questions that were more than just about shogi. Though he wanted to stay longer, the boy's yawn reminded him that he was already going to be late for dinner.

He hoped Yoshino would like the custard buns.

*

Kazuki didn't know how long he sat there, staring at the door in bewilderment. Eventually, he turned his attention to the shogi board that had been abandoned. Carefully, to avoid unbalancing himself, Kazuki reached out to pick up the "king" piece.

He cradled the piece in one hand for a moment when he heard two knocks. Before he could answer, the door opened and a teenaged boy entered the room with a clipboard held in front of him, "Excuse me."

Kazuki narrowed his eyes. The teenager appeared young, as if he had just graduated from the Academy. His headplate rested against his forehead, keeping silver hair pulled back from black wire frame glasses.

He looked like a younger version of the Kabuto he had met during his Chuunin Exam.

Kazuki barely managed to disguise his recoil as stretch. Still, his movement had caused the sheets to audibly shift, which grabbed the attention of his visitor.

"Oh, you're awake."

He snapped his eyes to meet a pair of friendly black eyes.

_Shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Step Before Four: Ok, it was lame; I felt like the play on words would be something Orochimaru would do to needle Danzo and remind Danzo of who he was working with. I get the feeling Danzo would be pretty condescending to Orochimaru because of Orochimaru's missing-nin status. Anyway, the name is a reference to the number 3, or his title as a sannin (san-nin; three ninjas). It's also a play on the word four, which sounds similar to death in Japanese– since Orochimaru wants to be immortal and everything. I realize, the name could also sound like he's about to die, but given that a person could argue the same thing about "Voldemort", I don't feel too badly about it XD  
> Kazuki: So the whole deal with the scrolls actually only occurred to me as I was trying to figure out how the massacre could be systematically addressed. I realized that if the massacre got to the mitigation stage, there was a good chance that Kazuki would have thought about his own chances of surviving. So then the question then became, would Kazuki leave behind a final note? I figured he'd feel obligated to do something instead of, "Screw it, I'm dead, it doesn't matter." The problem was, what kind of message could he leave behind? His knowledge of the future was a tenuous thing since he's never heard of anyone like him, his very existence as an Uchiha implies that his knowledge might be flawed, and the chance of his message falling into the wrong hands. Anyway, hopefully that hints towards why he had directed them to three scrolls and still kept everything vague.  
> Trying to figure out his reaction upon waking was difficult. I figured he'd fixate on Sasuke initially since that was his last thought before he fell unconscious. I'm basing his reaction on that 'Team Ten' episode, the time after his first leadership role, and well, by throwing some more curveballs at him… I admit, I flipped flopped a lot and changed the scene with what Shikaku knew and didn't know several times. Kabuto just kinda jumped in there – so I already have a detailed outline for that scene/the next chapter.


	9. Eddies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Found a beta; many thanks to Bonnie Mizuhara for betaing :)

Kabuto readjusted his glasses with the back of his left wrist and slid the tray into the freezer with his other hand. The substance Atsushi had given him to investigate had been much more fascinating than expected. Tossing the gloves and shrugging off his lab coat, he waved a shy goodbye to his lab partner and left. The drug's design was truly novel.

At first, he had only been able to identify a few of the drug's ingredients. Even then, he hadn't been able to determine the drug's effects until he sacrificed part of the limited sample he had for testing on cell cultures. The effects were quite fascinating, and working backwards allowed him to identify most of the remaining components.

He had never seen anything quite like it. The amount of time and experience needed to not only design but also produce the compound would have been extraordinary. From his tests, it was also clear that the drug's potential hadn't even been fully realized; its potency could have been greatly improved under more refined manufacturing methods, which supported his suspicions that the drug's maker wasn't a member of the hospital's medical or research staff.

It had been a long time since he had been both surprised and impressed by another person's biochemical skills. He was slightly disturbed that a player of this caliber had existed on his playing field in Konoha without his knowledge. But mostly, he was excited.

Actually, his interest had been piqued the moment he realized that it would require more than a day to decipher the drug's purpose. After that realization, he decided to kill time that would have been spent on waiting for his turn with the autoclave by looking into the origins of the drug. It only took an offhand question to the easily distracted Chief Medical Officer to attain the forms that had been filed with the initial request for chemical analysis.

Waiting in the queue for something as mundane as equipment sterilization often made him long for his old access to facilities in Orochimaru's hideout. However, he did recognize that, were he not here, he wouldn't have discovered this interesting puzzle.

The substance had been found in the mouth of the Uchiha clan head's wife, which had two major implications. He ducked into the alcove to pick up his two printouts before heading out.

First, the fact that the pill had not been swallowed indicated that the person who had the drug, presumably the same person who designed and manufactured the pill, had found the woman too late, after she died. It also suggested that the person who gave the pill to the woman was naïve and inexperienced or too emotionally compromised; emergency personnel would have recognized that the woman was dead long before putting anything in her mouth.

Second, the pill had to have been placed in her mouth relatively close to the time when her body had been recovered – otherwise a pill of that size would have dissolved. He knew he was lucky that the timing of her death appeared to be unique compared to the rest of her clan. Every single autopsy report he had been able to find had estimated the time of death to be an hour before hers.

There was a good chance that he had missed an autopsy report for an Uchiha that had died after her. However, from the accounts of those first on scene and those who had found the survivors, he doubted it.

Whoever placed the pill in her mouth was most likely one of the survivors of the massacre.

Consequently, he had been surprised to find that only two eight-year-olds had survived the attack.

Quickly, he signed his supervisor's name on the sheet. The chuunin on duty sent him a half-doleful, half-pitying look. Rolling his eyes at Kabuto's shrug, the chuunin waved at him towards the back, "Again?"

Kabuto smiled as he walked backwards, "I don't mind – really."

He turned around just as he heard the chuunin mutter something about gullible genin. Atsushi would be ecstatic that there was one less report to file. He slid the falsified report of his analysis on the compound into the drawer.

After finding out that the survivors, and his only suspects for the drug's maker, were children, he had been prepared to make another effort to find more autopsy reports. The difficulty in acquiring any information on the Massacre stank like the work of Root.  _Or more specifically, Danzo._

He made his way out of the file room with a mumbled goodbye to the chuunin at the desk. Just as he stepped into the hallway, he saw a familiar figure approaching.

_Think of the devil and he shall appear._

Purposefully, he pretended to be preoccupied with closing the door quietly so that, as he turned, he would partially block the esteemed village elder's path.

He knew it was a reckless move. Still, it had been eight years since he had met the man face to face, and three years since his supposed death.

His impact with the elder's shoulder barely slowed the old man down. In fact, as Kabuto bowed his head and stammered an apology, the hunched figure just continued to hobble down the narrow hall.

It was as if he wasn't even there.

He smiled the barest of smiles. He supposed he should have expected that.

Yes, he was almost certain that the massacre was the work of that heavy-handed paranoid senior councilman. He was almost just as certain that Itachi had made the sacrifice play, just as he had all those years ago, to protect his brothers.

How else could the two boys have survived? Neither of their academic records could compare to Itachi's.

The only reason he ran the tests, comparing the blood on their clothes to Mikoto's, was because he  _had_ been unaware of a designer with such chemical genius inside the village. Who was to say the children weren't also hiding their abilities? When he was their age, he had been hiding much more than simply his medical skills.

Moreover, who would want to save Mikoto more than one of her sons?

_Then again, one of her sons did kill her._

Still, it wasn't until he saw the results of the printout that he started to seriously consider the children as suspects. There was no perceivable motive to hide their abilities. If anything, he would expect them to be struggling against the weight of expectation that their older brother had inadvertently cast upon them with his own successes.

He glanced at the clock.  _Should I visit?_  He did still have several hours before he had to meet with Hitatare-sensei and his team. He recalled the results on the printout as he exited and stood outside of the Hokage Tower.

If he remembered correctly, matching samples #52-58 had been taken from the knee area on Uchiha Kazuki’s pants. The child had been kneeling in his mother's blood.

_How morbid._

There was probably nothing to see. To the best of his knowledge, the child had still been sleeping and was expected to sleep for at least another week.

The alternative would be to return to the lab, where a caffeinated Atsushi would undoubtedly be chattering away. The decision wasn't difficult. He faced the hospital and began walking.

Kabuto wasn't afraid of milking the sympathy points he received as the orphaned son of a Medic Corps captain. Undoubtedly, the nurses overlooked his occasional unauthorized visit to their lounge because they thought he was clinging on to the last reminders of his mother. Of course, the baked goods and tea leaves that he always brought undoubtedly helped.

So when he visited with more food and drinks, they welcomed him into the sitting area – and gossiped. With a few subtle comments, it wasn't too long before he had the room number of his target and was offering to help one of the harried-looking nurses with her tasks.

"Are you sure?" Black hair tied into a messy bun, the middle-aged woman looked equal parts hopeful and relieved.

Kabuto smiled and waved away her concerns, "Don't worry, I already know where the cart is."

He made his excuses which immediately prompted other nurses to excuse themselves as they realized their own list of tasks that had to be completed for the day. He exited with the crowd and was soon going from door to door, making small talk with the various patients as he refilled their water. He supposed he had been pretty successful in taking on his new cover considering that few questioned his presence in the hospital.

He slowed the cart to a stop as he noticed the clipboard hanging on the door with a familiar room number. Flipping through the paperwork, he guessed that this had been left outside for a nurse to pick up. The documents confirmed that he was standing in front of the room where Uchiha Kazuki had been sleeping.

Making the cursory knock again, he entered the room while still flipping through the documents. It wasn't until he heard the sheets shift that he noticed the boy was awake and staring at him with wide startled eyes.

He blinked in surprise, "Oh, you're awake."

Had he ever looked that innocent- _fragile_?

He gave the boy a friendly smile, the kind that reached the corner of his eyes. It didn't escape his notice that the boy's posture was rigid or that the boy seemed to recognize him.

Perhaps he reminded the boy of someone?

The Uchiha's dark, unblinking gaze reminded him of those few who had discovered his role as a spy – right before he had killed them to maintain his cover.

Kabuto gave a small nod in greeting to the boy, "Don't mind me; I'm just here to refill your water." He gave an awkward gesture to the cart sitting in the doorway.

The boy gave him a shallow nod, "Ah… thank you."

 _At least the boy was polite._ Kabuto stood there for half a beat before turning to retrieve the cart and hook the clipboard back on the door. He pushed the cart further into the room, so that the door could close and knelt down to retrieve the replacement pitcher from the side of the cart.

He could see the boy's reflection on the metal surface of the cart. From what he could tell, the boy's gaze had never left him since he had entered the room.

He stood up with the pitcher in hand and slowly made his way around the bed. From the corner of his eye, he could see the boy tense even further. If the kid wasn't careful, he'd strain that shoulder wound.

He made a show of inspecting the bedside table and frowned as if the table was dirty. Placing the pitcher on the nearby window sill, he began to clear the table. If the boy wasn't going to speak, then he would, "I'm sorry about your family."

As he balanced the shogi board precariously on the window ledge, he caught the boy's eyes narrowing in the window's reflection. Taking an old rag out from his back pocket, he began wiping the table down, "It must have been a shock about your brother."

Silence. The boy didn't move a muscle.

He paused to turn his full attention on the boy, determined to study the boy's response. Still half-bent over the table, he smiled sympathetically and offered an explanation, "The news is all over the village, how he killed everyone…"

"…He didn't."

 _At last, a response_. The words were quiet and spoken in a low tone, but they were carefully enunciated.

Kabuto straightened, tucking the rag back into his pocket as he did so. Arms by his side, he ducked his head as if in embarrassment, "Ah, sorry. That's just what the official reports said, that all the evidence points to him."

"He didn't do it." The response was fast, spoken in a tight voice – as if the faster the idea was denied the more likely the denial would be true.

Kabuto felt a seed of disappointment take root. He turned and started transferring the items from the windowsill back onto the table. When he had finished, the boy still hadn't spoken, hadn't offered an explanation. Disappointment blooming, he leaned against the wall, crossed his arm, and inserted a hint of skepticism into his voice, "How do you know?"

The boy gritted his teeth and, for the first time since Kabuto had entered the room, looked away. He saw the boy's eyes dart around.  _Did he hope to find the answer in this room?_

Finally the boy's eyes landed on his hands. Following the boy's line of sight, Kabuto saw that the kid was still holding a cup in one hand and a shogi piece in the other.

"… I know him."

Kabuto wanted to scoff. That was the boy's reason?

_How naïve._

He raised an eyebrow and lowered his head, as if skeptically concerned, "Did you really?"

The boy kept staring at the shogi piece.

Kabuto refrained from frowning and continued in a soft voice, "Your brother is a legend as a genius. He could have… tricked you."

He stood there, watching as the boy just continued to stare at his hands. He wasn't sure why he was pressing the topic. He supposed he just had expected more from the supposed designer of the chemical substance that had been occupying his interest for most of the last month. As the seconds ticked by, he wondered if he had visited too soon. The child must have just woken up. He was about ready to leave when the child finally answered.

"How do you know a person?" The boy raised his head. This time, their eyes met. The boy continued, "By who they know? What memories you have of them? By what they say or do? By what skills they have?"

Wordlessly, Kabuto stared back.

"All of these things can be changed or faked. So how do I know if I'm right or wrong about my brother's identity when identity isn't a fixed object? What does that leave? "

_This kid…_

For a moment, it seemed like the boy's eyes unfocused. Then the child blinked and the moment passed. Shrugging with one shoulder, Kazuki continued, "The investigators didn't live with him. They don't share his blood. … He's my brother… and I'm still alive. So, I don't think he did it."

Kabuto let out a breath he hadn't been aware of holding, "Mm, so you think the investigators are wrong?"

Kazuki gave another one-shouldered shrug.

Kabuto grabbed the empty pitcher and returned to the cart. The boy's final words were disappointing. While the child had shown thought processes and reasoning that were not typical for an eight year old, they also were not particularly noticeable when compared to his oldest brother. From what he could tell, Kazuki Uchiha was just a naïve, but traumatized child with above average intelligence.

He stepped forward, towards the boy and watched as the boy barely stopped himself from shrinking away. In spite of everything, he still found himself interested in the boy. Something about the child just felt  _off_. He held out his hand.

When the boy just stared at him, Kabuto nodded towards the cup, "I can take that."

The boy blinked, "Ah." Curling three fingers around the shogi piece, he used the unoccupied index finger and thumb of his right hand to retrieve the cup from his left and held the cup up, "Thanks."

Kabuto nodded and walked back to the cart. He paused for a moment and after propping the door open with the cart, he asked, "Do you want something to read?"

Kazuki stared at him.

"I don't exactly have any shogi books," Kabuto noted how Kazuki automatically tightened the fist holding the shogi piece, "but I do have books on medicine and other things…?"

Kazuki shook his head, "No thanks, I'll probably just be catching up on sleep."

The boy's academic record  _had_  contained frequent complaints about the child sleeping in class.

Kabuto ducked his head and laughed, "Ok, well I guess I'll see you around." The boy only gave him a small nod as he pushed the cart out the door and left.

*

Kazuki waited after the door closed, listening carefully to the wheels on the cart squeaking away. Once he could no longer hear the squeaks, he sagged back against the frame, ignoring how the metal bars dug uncomfortably against his neck.

He tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling, idly wishing that he was looking at the sky instead. The slow crawl of clouds across the blue sky had always been calming. Instead, all he saw were white-washed tiles and water stains, most likely due to water damage from roof leaks – which suggested that he was on the third floor of the hospital.

He should have asked for the teen's name. Regardless, he was fairly certain that he hadn't been the only one to feel the tension in the room. The way that his visitor had studied and watched him reminded him of when Sai used to watch the room, aping others in order to display the expected social niceties – for better or worse (the kid was on the same team as Naruto and Sakura after all). Just like with Sai, he could sense the weight of the teenager's stare even when the teen's back was turned to him.

With his luck and from the level of scrutiny, he would be very surprised if his visitor wasn't Kabuto – Orochimaru's second in command.

He let out a slow breath. Why had Kabuto visited him? Even if it wasn't Kabuto, he had just woken up. There was no reason for his water pitcher to be replaced.

He ran over the last minutes of his encounter again in his head, but nothing stood out. Kabuto had made small talk, giving condolences and asking about Itachi, as if he was just another overly curious village busy-body.

Was Kabuto interested in Itachi? The Uchiha?

He remembered the marks that had flowed across Sasuke's skin – the first time he had saw Sasuke as a potential enemy to protect his teammates from. Hadn't Orochimaru been interested in the sharingan? Wasn't that why he had led his first mission, the first mission where so many of his friends had been critically injured?

He dropped his gaze and stared mindlessly in front of him. Was Itachi in danger?

Kabuto had also seemed to be unusually curious about his faith in Itachi's innocence.

He closed his eyes as he remembered his reply. At the time, he was still off-balance at the news confirming his failure, that his brother was being blamed, that his clan was dead.

The only reason he believed in his brother was because of his memories of a different life. If he didn't have his memories, if he ignored everything he knew from his memories, then what conclusions would he have drawn about his brother?

_And moreover, myself?_

What if he was just naturally talented and just had an instinctive grasp of the shadows? As unlikely as that idea was, it wasn't any more unlikely that he truly had another life's worth of memories. They could be the product of fevered hallucinations for all he knew.

Sure, the memories were extraordinarily detailed and apparently fairly accurate. But at the same time, his very existence would appear to disprove that theory – he was an Uchiha, not a Nara. Yet, he had been basing so many of his decisions and judgments on these memories.

They felt so real and had been a large part of him for as long as he could remember.

But, he had nothing to really prove that these memories were real. At first, he had been too distracted with the looming event, and too afraid that someone would laugh his concerns away. Later, these memories were just so much a part of him that it was his natural instinct to hide them, to avoid the attention and the expectations that such attention would eventually bring.

His thoughts could have swirled further, branching into all the different possibilities of what his memories meant to him and how they had affected him. The pain didn't exactly help and the adrenaline that had first rushed through his veins when he realized that a potential enemy was standing in front of him had quickly faded into fatigue.

Like catching his rushing thoughts through a tattered sieve, he had wondered out loud. Partially, his thoughts applied to Itachi, but they also applied to himself, and the person who had invaded his room.

Nothing really could be taken for certain. So much could be faked, manipulated, tricked… so what did he have in the end?

He had pain.

The pain in the shoulder had come from a brother that according to reports should have killed him. He had another brother who had followed him that night, out of concern, and a friend who had seen an unlikely signal and used the summoning scrolls.

These connections, those were what really anchored him to reality.

That realization had been enough to make him snap back to the present, to hastily answer his own question. He knew he hadn't exactly behaved as Kabuto had expected, but he hoped that Kabuto hadn't found whatever he was looking for.

He opened his eyes and with a grimace, eased his weight off of the metal bar. The change in position caused him to catch sight of the empty chair beside his bed.

Kabuto was simply another reminder that there were still dangers lurking within the village.

He took as deep of a breath as he could manage. It was just, all of his allies were " _younger_ " than him, in all the ways that really mattered. While being a scion of the Uchiha clan offered many advantages and access to resources, he had forgotten the benefits of simply having parents, being able to rely on the weight of an adult’s authority at your side.

He still remembered his mother, and occasionally his father, sitting at his bedside when he had been first hospitalized. He could almost see his mother smiling at him in the empty chair.

He could practically feel the press of the wooden boards against his knees as he recalled the times spent whispering in the dark with his mother, talking about clan legends and rumored sharingan abilities. Somehow, even as he regurgitated theories back to his mother and realized the full extent of the sharingan's capacity for destruction, her physical presence had been enough to keep him focused, reassured that his understanding of the sharingan would be a sufficient defense, enough to buy him some time in the worst case scenario.

It was a false hope, a child's hope that could only grow in the sheltering shadow of a parent's presence.

Now, he wondered exactly how much of the sharingan he could even hope to use with only a theoretical knowledge base of his eyes. Unlike the clan jutsus of the Naras, many of the techniques of the sharingan were based in and taught through theory. In fact, there had only been one time when his mother had asked him to activate his eyes.

He couldn't help but fix his attention on the empty chair.

"KAZUKI!"

He looked up. It was Chouji, clutching at the door handle with one hand and holding an open bag of snacks in the other.

He stared, stunned, even as Chouji dived toward him and pulled him into a hug. Immediately, he snapped out of the daze, "Owowowoww, watch the shoulder!"

Chouji pulled back as if burnt, "Sorry!"

Clasping one hand over his shoulder, felt a genuine smile pull at his lips, "It's fine. Just a little sensitive. "

He watched as Chouji visibly studied him, not reassured by his statement. He saw Chouji's eyes settle on his shoulder. Pulling his collar away from his body, he showed Chouji the bandages, "Really, pretty sure this is it."

He frowned, alarmed, when his friend began to shake, "Chouji?"

Swiping at his eyes with the back of his forearm, Chouji shook his head, "It's nothing, I just… I'm really glad you're awake."

"Ahh … thanks."

The silence stretched as Kazuki looked everywhere else but at his friend, pretending that he hadn't seen the tears. Searching for a new topic, he asked, "So how've you been?"  _Bad question_. "How has school been?"

Chouji shrugged.

Kazuki scrambled for a moment before he suddenly remembered a mutual acquaintance… who he'd passed out on, "How's Naruto?"

Scrubbing away the last of the evidence on his face, Chouji shrugged again and began pulling out crackers from the bag. Shoving a fistful into his mouth, he mumbled as he chewed, "Ok, he's actually staying with us for a bit."

Kazuki blinked.

Chouji elaborated, "Dad was worried after he found you guys."

Kazuki winced…  _that couldn't have been good._  He was about to ask Chouji where Naruto was when Chouji swallowed and asked a question of his own, "Did you know something was going to happen?"

Kazuki stared at Chouji.

When he didn't immediately answer, Chouji looked into his snack bag and started fishing around as he mumbled, "You said… if anything happened…"

_Oh shit, the scroll._

Chouji bit his lip and looked up at Kazuki with a faintly apologetic expression, "I gave the scroll to Dad. I didn't look, like I promised, but…"

Was that why Shikaku had visited? Kazuki was aware of Chouji explaining his decision to give the scroll, which he perfectly understood.

It was just that his current situation wasn't really one that he had considered. How much did his old man know?

Though, if his old man – no, if Shikaku knew, he might be able to use this development to his advantage.

Returning his focus to Chouji, he caught the tail end of the question, "…was I not supposed to?"

Kazuki shook his head, "No, it's fine." Seeing that Chouji was visibly distressed, he switched the topic, "So Naruto's been staying with you?

Chouji suddenly burst into a smile, previous worries forgotten, "Yeah, it was funny when he dragged Sasuke through the door."

Kazuki tilted his head, "Sasuke's staying at your place?"

Chouji's smile faded. Busying himself with grabbing another handful of crackers, Chouji answered, "For like two weeks while your place was being fixed cuz it caughtonfire." Chouji shoved the snack into his mouth and, cheeks bulging, chewed furiously with an almost scared expression as he watched Kazuki.

Shock was first, followed by a flash of terror and pressing need. He blinked quickly.

Right, he had blown ash right atop wooden floors, right before he had confirmed that both of his parents were dead. He refocused his eyes on Chouji's, "Did I miss the funeral?"

Chouji choked. Coughing, he just managed to catch the flecks of food in his hand.

Huh, he guessed he could have timed that better. Still, Chouji's reaction wasn't exactly a comforting sign.

As Chouji's coughs slowed, Kazuki ignored Chouji's waves and slid half out of the bed to pick up the pitcher of water. Before he could hand it to Chouji, his friend had pulled the pitcher out of his grasp and shoved him back into the bed, going so far as to shoving a pillow under his head.

"You should ask Sasuke."

He pushed himself back on his elbows, "Is it that bad?"

Chouji shrugged again, looking completely uncomfortable. He looked back into the bag, as if the bag held all of the answers. Perhaps to him, it did, because after a second of silence, the boy took another cracker out and handed it to Kazuki.

"Ah, thanks."

Chouji nodded and shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"Do you have to go?"

Chouji looked embarrassed, "Yea, but I'll be back – "

Kazuki smiled, "Don't worry about it."

Looking relieved, Chouji started to walk towards the door.

As a thought occurred to him, Kazuki called out, "Oh, and can you bring me a change of clothes the next time you visit?"

At the door, Chouji turned and nodded, "Sure." As he opened it, he paused, "And Kazuki?"

In the middle of lowering himself back onto the bed, Kazuki paused, "Yea?"

"I'm really glad you're awake."

"Me too."

He watched, as Chouji tossed the snack bag into the trash bin next to the door, waved, and left.

For a moment, he thought it was exhaustion that was causing him to stare at the trash, before he finally made the connection.

_Did Chouji just give me his last cracker?_

*

He snuck out of the hospital.

He blamed the Naruto of his past life for giving him the idea. In his defense, there was no Sakura to drag him back, so he didn't see any reason why he couldn't leave.

Chouji's green jacket hung loosely on his narrow shoulders, covering the Uchiha emblem on his back. He had torn off the distinctive collar and wore his hair loosely around his face to obscure his features. No one stopped him on the streets, and before long he was standing in front of the compound gates.

He took a breath and shoved the emotions that threatened to break the surface away. He needed to see Sasuke.

Jerk hadn't even visited him… while he was awake anyway.

With a twist of his mouth, he headed towards the training grounds. He highly doubted Sasuke would still be inside at this time of the day.

When he was about half-way to his targeted destination, he spotted a lone figure standing on the dock where his father had taught him his first katon technique. He squinted his eyes.

Yup, it was definitely Sasuke.

Hands in his pockets, he pivoted and started towards his brother. When he was only a couple of meters away, he saw his brother take a flying leap at the water.

He stared, nonplussed for a moment, before laughing. That belly flop had to have hurt.

Still chuckling, he continued his trek across the grass, but after several seconds, when Sasuke didn't surface, he began to frown. Quickening his pace, he waited for a few more seconds before breaking into a run, "Sasuke!"

Reaching the water's edge, he saw his brother's still form at the bottom of the lake.

 _What had happened?_  A dark thought lingered at the back of his mind before he dismissed it.

With a growl, he toed off his sandals and dove into the lake. Holding his breath, he kicked frantically, keeping one arm close to his chest, and the other held in front of him.

Luckily, Sasuke hadn't jumped too far away from the dock and so he was able to find him relatively quickly. Terror gripped him when Sasuke didn't respond to his touch. But when he managed to gain a firmer hold on his brother's upper arm, his brother started flailing.

One of Sasuke's arm hit him in the chest, causing him to exhale a stream of bubbles. Releasing his hold, he moved away and pushed off from the floor, kicking up the settled ash particles and clouding the waters.

He broke the surface of the water with a gasp and immediately started treading the water. He didn't want to use his chakra for at least several more days, so he didn't even attempt to climb onto the water's surface. Blinking the water from his eyes, he twisted around awkwardly with the use of one arm as he tried to see if his brother had also surfaced.

"Kazuki!" Behind him.

Before he could turn around, his brother had gotten ahold of his collar and had started tugging him back onto the dock. Spitting out the water that had gotten into his mouth, Kazuki grumbled at the sky, "What the hell was that?"

"When did you get out of the hospital? When did you wake up? Here, hold on to this." Kazuki looked back to see Sasuke gesture at a handhold under the dock.

As he grabbed the metal bar, Sasuke lifted himself out of the water and rolled over to the edge of the dock to pull him up, "Did you just wake up?"

Grimacing, Kazuki rolled onto his back once he was out of the water. The wooden slats, warm from the sun, felt wonderful against his skin, "Seriously, you're such a pain."

He felt Sasuke move over him, blocking the sunlight from hitting his face. Without opening his eyes, he asked, "What were you doing?"

He felt the warmth of the sun return as Sasuke moved away. Twisting his head to the side, he opened his eyes in time to hear an unintelligible angry mutter from Sasuke.

He furrowed his brows, "What?"

"I thought I saw Itachi's reflection, in the water."

He stared, uncertain how to parse the statement. The only explanation he could discern from those words and Sasuke's actions was that Sasuke was angry at Itachi.

He spoke without thinking, "He didn't do it."

Sasuke whipped around to face him, snapping, "Stop dreaming! Everybody knows he did it."

A bubble of anger rose in his chest, " _Everybody_  thought he was a hero.  _Everybody_  thought he was a role model. Now  _everybody_  knows he's killed his family? Either  _everybody_  was wrong then, or everyone's wrong now. I wouldn't put too much weight on what  _everybody_  says."

Undeterred Sasuke glared back at him, "You think everyone's just mistaken then? That nii-san's just misunderstood?" Sasuke tightened his fists and spat out, "Then where  _is_  he? Where  _was he that night_?" In a softer tone, almost close to breaking, he continued, "He had no missions that night."

Kazuki turned his head back at the sky, looking down to avoid the glare of the sun. He replied dryly, "He could hardly come back now. I heard there's a kill on sight order."

Sasuke exploded, "DO YOU THINK EVERYTHING'S A JOKE? DO YOU EVER TAKE ANYTHING SERIOUSLY?"

Kazuki let his head fall to the left again and met Sasuke's eyes intently, "Of course I – "

"He tried to kill you.

.

.

 _Oh._ Kazuki blinked.

Right, there had been that attack.

.

That had been … alarming.

Slowly, he spoke, "Ok… if it wasn't an imposter, if it was Itachi, what then?"

From Sasuke's widened eyes, he guessed that his brother hadn't thought that far, "If Itachi did … kill everyone, what would you do? Avenge our family – by killing him?" Sasuke's face hardened, and for a moment, a different face overlapped the one before his eyes, a face that was older and far less expressive.

He held back a shiver at the sudden chill.

He continued, "How would you do that?"  _When you haven't even surpassed his old accomplishments._ Kazuki returned his head to neutral position and continued speaking, "Would you jump after any chance to improve yourself or just dedicate yourself to this one pursuit? Or both? And what after, after you kill him? Would you really have  _won_ or would Itachi have stolen your life too?"

"You'd be safe."

Startled, Kazuki pushed himself up to stare at Sasuke, who continued speaking with his back to Kazuki, "He was going to kill you."

"He didn't."

Sasuke corrected him, "He couldn't – we were summoned away."

Grasping, Kazuki started, "You were knocked out…"

At this, Sasuke finally turned to face him, "I heard the reports; how else would you explain it?"

"If it was Itachi, if he was truly trying to kill me, I'd be dead," Kazuki stated flatly. "It wouldn’t have been hard for him to just snap my neck."

Sasuke flinched but didn't back down, "He was just toying with you, with the both of us."

Was he angry at Sasuke for digging his heels in? Had Sasuke been this certain of Itachi's guilt before they started arguing? He stared angrily back at Sasuke for a moment, frustrated before huffing a sigh and lying back down, "I doubt anyone would put up with your cat shenanigans just to toy with you."

Sasuke sputtered, "That was a mission!"

"That Itachi assigned." Before Sasuke could edge in another word, Kazuki waved lazily with his right hand, "Just… agree to disagree."

He heard Sasuke blow out an angry breath, "…Fine. Wait-“

At the sudden note of concern in his brother's voice, Kazuki half-heartedly tilted his head up.

"You never answered, when'd you wake up?"

Before Kazuki could reply, Sasuke's eyes had narrowed. Kazuki knew what he was staring at. An instant before Sasuke's arms snapped forward, he closed his eyes, readying himself for the inevitable bound of nagging, "ARE YOU BLEEDING?"

As Sasuke flipped aside his jacket and tugged at his collar, Kazuki mumbled, "Just tore a scab."

"These bandages are wet! Are you a moron?!"

"Yeah, yeah…"

"DON'T YEAH, YEAH ME!"

_I dove in the lake, what'd you expect?_

*

Kazuki stared at the targets. The sun was setting, bathing everything in a warm amber glow. The violent red hue of the maple leaves made it look as if the world was on fire.

Kazuki almost wished it was.

" _The bodies were destroyed. To protect clan secrets."_

" _The sharingan?"_

" _Mmhmm."_

Bullshit. Kazuki walked over to the tree and began tugging the kunai out, one by one. Sasuke didn't remember who had told him; it had just been another one of those faceless investigators.

Kazuki hurled the kunai. It didn't matter. If there had been no funeral for the Uchiha, the only way for their peers not to question anything was if the decision had been made at the very top.

He hurled another kunai, digging the first one deeper into the wood.

He didn't know why there wasn't a funeral; he didn't know why the bodies were being hidden.

He threw another kunai. Now, the handle of the first could barely be seen. Perhaps it was the wounds? The wounds that indicated there was more than one attacker?

_Had they known about Madara?_

He doubted it. He was sure that Tsunade would have known if they did. But regardless, if there had been more than one attacker, then there was a chance that Itachi hadn't needed to be blamed.

Couldn't they have blamed it on a rogue ninja?

 _Powerful enough to take down the whole clan?_ Ignoring his own thoughts, he chucked another kunai at the same spot. Moreover, what schemes were those old farts up to, what right did they have to destroy the bodies of his family!

Fucking boldface liars.

Aggravated, he shrugged off the sling for his arm that his brother had insisted upon, and began to run. A sweep of his hand sent three more kunai hurtling towards three separate targets lined up, deeper in the woods.

What right did they have to ask a child to bloody his hands?

He gave up his struggle on controlling his breathing and finally began to rage, throwing kunai and shuriken at every target within his sight.

And what had Itachi been thinking?

Had he really thought that they would be ok without him? Without the protection of adults? His thoughts raced onwards, blaming Itachi, blaming his parents, the clan, the elders again, himself, the Hokage, the elders again and again, the village itself….

He skidded to a stop. A small part of him was horrified at the direction where his thoughts were turning, but a slightly larger part wasn't surprised. He had always fixed his mistakes and moved on, setting his eyes on the next goal after a failure. He had  _fixed_  his ability to lead after the disastrous mission to retrieve Sasuke and he had  _fixed_  the issue of Hidan.

He just had to find a way to  _fix_  this too.

Whatever  _this_  was.

Mostly, he just wanted his thoughts to clear. They kept chasing each other like a dog chasing its own tail, or maybe that was his own angerand grief. Sweat dripped down his neck.

He remembered this clearing, where Itachi had impressed Sasuke with his kunai-throwing skills, hitting targets positioned at all angles. Breathing deeply through his nose, he walked around the clearing, studying where the targets were and how they were positioned. He snapped out a shuriken and threw it to his left, burying it into a pile of leaves with a soft crunch. Instantly, a small kitten sprang out with an indignant yowl. He stared impassively back at it and jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "You may not want to be here."

Perhaps sensing his mood, the cat dashed away, but not before sending him one last offended look.

Ignoring the animal, he took a step back and leapt. Holding two kunai between every two fingers, he crossed his arms and tucked his legs in such that he could hang upside down for a moment in mid-air. Clenching his stomach muscles, he twisted, snapping first his right, then his left arm out to the side. A kick upward had him mostly upright when he landed, but he still staggered to the left upon landing.

Sixteen targets, sixteen hits.

His success at mostly matching Itachi's skill on his first try didn't really change how he felt.

He dropped to his knees. He wanted to hate the village, the system that took his parents.

(He'd have to take care of Sasuke. The kid had no self-preservation instincts at all.)

He wanted to hate them, to take care of his hatred and put the whole matter behind him.

But he didn't even know who he was hating – or blaming; he wasn't sure what action to take when he wasn't even sure of who he was.

He dropped to his hands and let his head hang down. The necklace he had made earlier slipped out; the shogi piece swung forward, hitting his lip.

Recoiling, he sat back on his heels, hands cupped around the wooden piece. Anger had always been a hard emotion for him to hold onto – his logic often dissolved his negative emotions before he could act upon them. Perhaps it was the sense of loss that he felt that had him clinging on to whatever he could find to serve as a directional sense.

But, even in his fury, he had recognized that he had no aim, no target for his anger, nothing that he could really charge towards without his thoughts interrupting and dispersing his resolve.

He stared at the chess piece and traced the etched character with his thumb.

_We're on our way there too, to their side – the side that leaves behind instead of inherits._

He remembered the resolve that had carried him past Asuma's death and through darkening Hidan's sight. He had his kings then, but his kings were basically his peers now – which said something about himself.

Which side did he belong to?

But still, it was something he could hold onto.

He gripped the fabric of Chouji's green jacket. (It was going to be a pain to clean).

It would be good… really, really good if he could return to that second family, if Team Ten could be formed once more.

 _Crunch_.

He twisted around, mouth opened, ready to reassure Sasuke that he was fine, when he saw who was watching him.

 _Dad_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kazuki. Hopefully this chapter wasn't a disappointment. There were three main balancing acts/struggles that I attempted to show in this chapter. The first was the balance between intellect and emotion. Canon Shikamaru generally seemed to hold it together under stressful situations and only broke down after the event was over. I think in both cases where he had broken down (after the Sasuke retrieval and Asuma's death arcs) and shown his emotions was when Shikaku had coaxed it out of him. I was basing his reaction partially from the anime episode "Team Ten" and the manga's depiction of his reaction to his dad's last words during the Fourth War. I feel like he's too pragmatic and "lazy"/non-confrontational (can't find the right word to use there) to really brood with angst and hatred – as opposed to introspection. Can anyone guess the other two? They're a tad bit spoilery for the next to arcs to I'm going to stay mum unless you specifically request an answer. As always, please note if you don't mind spoilers or would prefer for me to omit them.
> 
> It's a pity a lot of the characters' backstories are told through a monologue to the enemy. I think I would have like more Naruto characters earlier, before writing this story forced me to think about them, if it hadn't been through a monologue.


	10. Building Bridges

A triumphant roar sent an explosion of birds screeching as they fled overhead.

Itachi watched dispassionately as the thickly built man grinned savagely. It seemed as if the man's initial wariness of his red eyes had long since fled. Certain of his victory, the man finally removed his white mask, the only thing that wasn't black on his person and smiled, revealing rows of teeth that were filed to sharp points, "Will you finally answer me boy? Or would you like your gravestone to bear no name?"

Itachi remained silent and kept his eyes riveted on the man's form, studying with detached interest the manner in which his opponent imparted silent menace behind every gesture.

The man's smile faded into a disappointed scowl. Thin black brows that would have otherwise emphasized the sharp lines of a passably handsome face drew downwards, "Very well." Lowering his chin, the man flashed his teeth briefly as he smirked, "For the fight you've given me, I'll grant you a tombstone unlike any other!" With an intent glare, the man snapped up his right arm straight overhead before lowering it to his right with his palm facing the ground. The man's smile widened to an unnatural degree as he whispered with dark amusement, "So long."

He whipped his right hand upwards in a grasping motion and simultaneously formed a rabbit seal in front of his face with his left hand. In front of him, black obsidian shot forth from the ground from both sides, like a gaping mouth. The two sides closed and swirled upwards to form a miniature black peak of solid rock.

The man held his position for a second past when the rocks had finally stopped moving before straightening with a sigh. With a disappointed twist of the mouth, the man replaced his mask and walked forward to retrieve his sword from where it was buried in the stone. The monument released its grip on the sword without a protest and the man shrugged as he walked away only to stop.

Itachi deactivated his sharingan and stepped forward. He watched as the man visibly stiffened at his approach before collapsing bonelessly to the ground. Crouching at the man's side, he gently lifted the mask. Underneath, the man's skin was bleached white. The green eyes that had shone with glee just moments ago were already filming over, even as the man's lips twitched.

The reedy repetitive whisper could barely be heard over the wind, "How, how, how …how?"

Itachi bowed – a slight nod of his head. With his bangs obscuring his eyes, a makeshift curtain of privacy for the dying stranger, he explained succinctly, "Genjutsu."

He reached behind him for a storage scroll as he saw the man manage a paroxysm of laughter, "HA. HAHAHA." With a grunt, the man snarled with mad glee, "Nameless I came, nameless I-"  _left_.

With a flick of the wrist, Itachi covered the frozen man with the scroll and activated the seal, storing the body away. He glanced at where the man had been staring, the nameless gravestone that had originally been intended for him.

He didn't want a gravestone.

He blinked, shuttering his unidentifiable emotions further away, and refocused. Picking up the scroll, he headed back to the cover of the trees and recalculated his plans. With this encounter, if he cashed in his bounties, he would have enough funds to both complete his final emergency stash and satisfy the Akatsuki's unofficial induction fee.

He came to a stop just as the forest floor dropped into a sharp ravine. Looking at the rushing waters below his feet, he was reminded of another scene and the dilemma that had haunted the peripheries of his attention for the past month.

Shisui's eye – specifically the use of the Koto Amatsukami. The day when he realized Shisui had truly left him, the day when he started analyzing how he would manipulate the emotions of those closest to him was the same day that he had programmed Shisui's final gift. If Sasuke became too embroiled with hatred, if Kazuki became too entrenched in fear and paranoia, then there was still the Koto Amatsukami – his last defense for the village. Where one would go, the other would most likely follow, was what he had initially assumed.

But with the disruption of his primary plans, there was a high chance that the need to use Shisui's last gift as a contingency plan had been greatly reduced. Still, he was reluctant to risk Shisui's eye for reprogramming, especially with the Madara imposter lurking about.

Though he was fairly certain that the imposter was an Uchiha with some type of teleportation abilities, he hadn't been given much opportunity to confirm his suspicions or continue further observations on the strange man. To his disappointment and relief, the imposter had seemed to avoid him as of late.

He listened to the soft pitter patter of falling leaves in the forest for a moment before flicking his fingers forward. A thin glassy sheet of obsidian shot forth, bridging the ravine. He stepped forward and assessed the grip of his sandals on the black rock. As he tested his weight on the bridge, his eyes caught sight of his own reflection in the glossy surface, causing him to retreat a step.

Crouching down, he took a closer look at the reflected image of two black eyes. Briefly, he imagined them larger and wider. Shaking his head, he moved the side of where the bridge started and took a seat on the moss covered ground. Letting his legs dangle over the edge, his eyes traced the path of a branch as it was swept along by the waters, bouncing off upturned rocks until it was finally pinned against the trailing roots of an old oak tree.  _Kazuki._

Reaching out with his senses, Itachi confirmed his singular presence in the forest and bit into his thumb. His palm had barely touched the dirt when a tiny black kitten appeared in his lap and yowled – loudly.

Itachi felt the beginnings of a smile touch his lips and swallowed. He watched as the kitten raised its hackles, making the small animal look even more like a ball of fur. He sent a prayer of thanks to whoever was listening.

 _Kazuki's awake_.

*

Drawing the shadows around him, Shikaku watched as the boy careened into the space less than three meters in front of him. Then, for two long beats, the child stood disconcertingly still with the exception of his heaving chest.

He really did have better things to do than to watch an Academy student rage – understandably – about in the forest. But the unconfirmed conclusions that he had derived from the scrolls and Inoichi had been itching at him for the better half of the month. With the kid awake, the sensation that he was potentially overlooking something important only grew to an irritatingly high level until even Yoshino had noticed.

He watched as the boy's breaths slowed.

The existence of the scrolls had only niggled at him at first. Perhaps it was an Uchiha head family tradition or maybe having Itachi as an older brother had given the kid – a child born in peacetime – concerns about his own mortality. But then, there was the nature in which the scrolls had been imparted to consider. While it was plausible that a young child might want to give his last words to a close friend, it made much less sense for the young child to request his last words to be given straight to the close friend's father.

On top of all of that, and what truly bothered Shikaku, was the content within the scrolls. The scrolls' hints, which utilized relatively obscure knowledge, had seemed to gather some of the most high-profile ninjas of Konoha, who were known for their intelligence to address an issue that presumably involved all five great nations.  _Strange content for a child to leave as his last words_.

He watched on as the young boy finally broke off his frozen stance. With some concern, he noted the bright, almost feverish eyes of the child, who was taking steadying breaths through his nose. Shikaku eyed how the child was holding one arm stiffly against his chest as he trod up to each of the targets in the clearing.

There was also the information Inoichi had found and shared. It had taken them a week to realize that the random mix of images, sensations, and emotions were all part of seven distinct memories. The very presence of such a mix had indicated that the kid had been trained against Yamanaka mind techniques, which would ordinarily have caused both men to assume that the kid was an infiltrator sent by another message.

But if that was the case, the child would have to be both extremely skilled to avoid detection from the Uchiha clan and extremely dumb to call together some of the village's strongest with his scrolls.

Regardless, figuring out that the flashes of emotion and sensation belonged to seven memories had initially led them to no sort of groundbreaking revelation. It was like they had been given only a small number of the pieces needed to complete a puzzle, and the pieces that they had managed to fit together only showed parts of a landscape instead of the portrait's main subject.

It was only on his fifth foray, reviewing his memories, that Inoichi had noticed a reflection in one of the memories' images. On the surface of a red curved blade was a bloodied image of Sarutobi Asuma – an Asuma that sported a full chinstrap beard.

Coupled with the child's comments at the hospital, the only conclusion that he had been able to arrive at was that the child had perhaps developed some form of limited precognitive skill. As dubious as he felt, he remembered how some of the more experienced shinobi in the child's clan had been able to predict the movements of their opponents during battle. Perhaps it was a stretch to imagine that such predictive skill could be extended from mere seconds to years, but it was the only hypothesis that he had at the moment.

He watched as the boy warned off a small kitten that had been hiding in the bushes.  _Strange_. He hadn't been aware that stray cats frequented forested training areas. He sharpened his gaze as the child took what was a clearly preparatory step back. Rescanning the scene, Shikaku lifted an eyebrow in disbelief,  _He isn't going to…_

Shikaku resisted the urge to facepalm as he leant against an old maple tree. Through half-lidded eyes, he watched with a growing suspicion that this visit, what was supposed to be a break from work, had moved straight into a grudging invitation for more work.

_He definitely was._

He fought the urge to sigh as he watched the child take a flying leap into the air and brandish two handfuls of kunai – sixteen kunai to be precise. There were sixteen targets in the clearing.

He frowned as the child wrenched his arm to the side and started releasing the kunai.  _Onetwo, three, fourfivesix, seven…_ The Uchiha was leaning too far forward. At this rate, he wouldn't swing his arm far enough to –  _no_. This time Shikaku lifted both brows, impressed, as the child tucked both legs in further, raising the speed in which his body was spinning and allowing his arm to complete the necessary arc just before he extended his other arm.

_Eight. Nineteneleven, twelve._

Shikaku thumbed his goatee absently. Three of the remaining targets were hidden, impossible to hit directly.

Correcting his balance by first kicking out to the side, the boy lashed his other foot out directly upwards in a front kick to return his body to its upright position. Arching his back, the child took advantage of his body's rotation to increase the change in the launch angles for his remaining kunai such that each kunai redirected the path of the kunai that had been released before it.

Shikaku frowned as the child landed with a stumble and with his back facing Shikaku. The boy wasn't a natural genius when it came to taijutsu, at least not compared to his eldest brother. The instincts he had once observed in Itachi just weren't as noticeably present in this child. But there was no doubt that the child was a genius. Hitting all of the targets was impressive by itself, but the way that the kid had compensated for his mistakes was even more impressive.

Not to mention, the child was most likely still injured. Not that the boy seemed to be cognizant of his own state. Shikaku pressed his lips together as he saw the boy drop first to his knees, then his hands.  _He shouldn't be stressing his shoulder this much_.

The child's harsh breathing filled the clearing.

The child was small for his age. In the borrowed clothes of his friend, his figure seemed even more diminutive. Coupled with the pallor of his skin that was only emphasized by his dark hair, the child seemed ridiculously defenseless – even with what Shikaku had just observed.

And this was the same child that was going to grow up at the center of political attention because of the potential locked within his eyes and the reputation held by his bloodline. As the child dropped his head, Shikaku squashed the irritation that flared up towards the village administration.

While he thought the adoption ban for the two survivors of the massacre was instituted to protect both boys from the political machinations of clan politics, he couldn't help the growing suspicion that the policy would do more harm than good. Although he doubted either child saw the partial destruction of their home as fortunate in any way, he was glad that the process of rebuilding gave Chouza the excuse to house the other twin for a little bit. In his opinion, even with a caretaker, the two children were going to be much too isolated.

Then again, it wasn't like he had the qualifications to judge how the children were going to be reared. He wasn't a parent.

He glanced at the medicine he held, the reason why he had an excuse to be in the compound. When he turned back, the kid was sitting back on his heels. He sucked in a small breath at the sight of a dark stain just on the lateral side of the boy's left shoulder blade and stepped forward, purposefully stepping on a dry twig.

The boy spun around, mouth open, ready to speak. His hands were clutched around a pendant that hung from a thin chain around his neck. From the way he swallowed his words, it was clear that he hadn't been expecting Shikaku.

They stared at one another in silence as the stillness of the training grounds was only interrupted by the occasional sigh of the wind.

*

With a loud chortle, Jiraiya swept in armfuls of his winnings – dozens upon dozens of dried rice crackers. With a disgusted snort, Hisoka threw down his cards and propped his cheek on his hand. Tonguing the toothpick in his mouth back and forth, he muttered, "Have fun eating all of that."

Jiraiya grinned at the red head facing him, "Not up for Round Four?"

Hisoka shot him a flat stare and spat the toothpick at the Sannin's face.

Ducking away, Jiraiya laughed again, "Okay, okay. I'll leave."

Hisoka felt a cold sweat break out along the back of his neck at the sudden open mouthed grin Jiraiya was sporting. Leaning away from the table, he tilted the chair precariously and crossed his arms just as Jiraiya slammed both hands down, "Hey Hissoo-kaaa."

He didn't hesitate, "No."

Jiraiya gave him a ridiculous pout. Feeling his cheek spasm, Hisoka presented the old fart in front of him with his fiercest glare.

It had no effect. Jiraiya widened his eyes with a comically piteous expression, "You didn't even hear what I was going to ask!"

Avoiding his gaze, Hisoka focused his gaze on the wart on the old man's nose, "I'm not going with you to the red light district."

Jiraiya straightened with an affronted expression and fought the urge to laugh at how the young man hurried to cut him off.

"Don't even try to deny it – don't you have somewhere to go?"

Jiraiya wrinkled his forehead, "Hmm?"

Letting the chair fall back onto all fours, Hisoka frowned upwards at him, "With the …" Waving one hand as he tried to find the right words, he finally gave up and made a vigorous stabbing gesture towards his own neck, "You know… clan."

Jiraiya stared at him blankly and blinked. He had an inkling of what the man was referring to, but he couldn't help needling the man.

Hisoka shot him a frustrated look, "Your village…?" He made circular gestures towards his eyes with both hands.

Jiraiya held his expression for a second longer before relenting. Hisoka's frantic motions were starting to attract attention. Snickering, Jiraiya broke into a grin and made a waving motion with one hand, "Yea, yea, I've heard about it. I'm sure I'll be sent for soon enough."

Hisoka dropped his hands and mouthed silently in rage at Jiraiya. Ignoring his informant, Jiraiya glanced up at the sky before sitting back down, "So kid, do you have anything for me?"

Hisoka ground his teeth for a moment before rolling his eyes. "Yeah, you know that flower from Mist you wanted?"

Jiraiya nodded, "How's her growth?"

Hisoka looked down and fished out another toothpick from his pockets. With a shrug, he popped the toothstick in his mouth and mumbled around it, "'pparently pretty damn stable. Foliage keeps popping up around her."

 _So Mei was poised to become Mizukage?_ He wondered if Tsunade had heard the news. Nodding thoughtfully to himself, he grabbed the satchel that hung from his waist and tossed it onto the table, "Some stuff for you in there."

Hisoka spared him a deadpan look as he reached towards the bag, "No shit." Pulling the drawstrings loose, Hisoka made his customary glance in the bag only to snap a frown at Jiraiya, "What's with the scroll?"

Jiraiya gave him a wide closed mouthed smile, "Right, I almost forgot." He ignored Hisoka's disbelieving expression, "Just give the scroll's message to your friends."

Hisoka deepened his frown, "What message?"

Jiraiya pushed back his stool and stood. Unclipping another bag, he started sweeping his winnings into the sack, "Ah well, like I said, some people should be coming for me soon." Leaving one cracker on the table, he pulled the drawstrings tight and swung the bag over his shoulder, "I'm sure they wouldn't mind tackling a few chores while tracking me down."

"I feel like I should pity whoever has to retrieve  _you_."

Several countries away, in a marsh with tall grasses, Kakashi fought back a sneeze and then a groan as Gai jumped straight into the black mud.

Jiraiya clutched at his chest dramatically for a moment, "Ah you wound me so."

The red head shook his head and slid off his chair without a backwards look, "See ya."

Jiraiya huffed and muttered to himself, "No respect to your elders." He gave the dried snack on the tabletop a considering look.  _Not that I have the right to complain about respect to elders._ With a shrug, he picked it up and broke it in half to pull out a slip of white paper. As he left the tea stand, he studied the words and munched on the rice cracker.

_Sorry old man. I'm gonna take the fact that you sent Kakashi to look for me as a sign that I should dawdle some more, because I really do have a few more leads to follow up._

*

Hiruzen paused, letting his eyes fall on his folded wrinkled hands. Keeping his thoughts from his face, he waited for the protests.

As expected, Koharu cleared her throat, "Hiruzen, we have discussed the fallout before. But just because we considered the loss of the Uchiha acceptable, doesn't mean that we can afford to continue reducing the size of our forces."

Homura nodded at her side. Danzo was noticeably silent, but there wasn't a person in the room who wasn't aware of his opinions.

 _And that was the problem_. Danzo didn't need to speak. He already had a spokesperson – technically spokespeople; the rest of the council already sided with him.

After his confrontation with Danzo, his subsequent inquiries into his former teammate had led Sarutobi to some uncomfortable conclusions. For one, Danzo's ROOT forces were much more well-established than he had suspected. Second, Danzo's political power base through his connections with the rest of the Konoha Council, Koharu and Homura, meant that any attempt to overthrow the man would have severe repercussions.

In recent years, the council voiced increasingly unanimous opinions. On the surface, such unity was a boon to the village, facilitating speedy decision-making in critical operations and boosting the overall morale of their shinobi force. However, as his investigations into Danzo had revealed increasingly disturbing implications that had highlighted the need to remove Danzo from power, Sarutobi suspected that such a unity would be a significant hurdle that he would need to overcome.

Without hard evidence, if his movements against Danzo came to light, he suspected that Danzo would have little difficulty persuading Homura and Koharu to side with him. Although it was understood that the Hokage did not have to listen to the counsel of his advisors, it was rare for the leadership to come into direct opposition with the rest of the village's high ranking official. He didn't want to risk the potential political instability that could happen if the different factions of the shinobi populace were forced to choose between him and the council.

He would have to move slowly, but in the meantime, he had promises to honor. Hiruzen raised his eyes, "We have discussed this, but didn't we once also discuss the need to raise the Academy graduation limit before? Didn't we say, after the war, we would change the age? Didn't we promise to stop postponing this change?"

As Koharu opened her mouth, Hiruzen hardened his eyes and ploughed forward, "In any case, with the … unexpected  _adjustments_ … to the original plan, raising the limit would also be seen as an appropriate response to the massacre. It would help support the conclusions that were released in the official report."

Homura frowned in confusion while Koharu squinted her eyes as she sought to follow Hiruzen's reasoning, "We raised the limit… to prevent another genius from snapping."

Hiruzen inclined his head and caught Koharu's eyes, "Moreover, it was Itachi's last request."

She held his gaze. But when Homura cleared his throat and shifted with clear unease, she blinked and looked down, "…very well."

"While that is all very well and true, we should not hold back students from reaching their full potential."

Sarutobi turned to face Danzo. Sometimes it seemed as if the man was wrapping himself in an ever increasing number of bandages by the day. Squashing down his concern for the man's health, Sarutobi replied, "It does not matter if the student is ready if there are no teachers to teach. Until the shortage in the number of jounin ready and able to take on a team of genin is changed, there is no sense in rushing to promote Academy students to genin."

Danzo's expression didn't change, "We would have enough if we didn't limit the size of our teams."

Hiruzen fought the urge to frown.  _You are making this too easy_. Maybe something really was wrong with Danzo's health; maybe he was suffering from something that was impairing his judgment.

And maybe he was looking for excuses just as he had before with his former student.

He reached out to pour himself a cup of tea, "I thought that was a given. Didn't the third war prove that a genin's chance of surviving their first field mission – and their first year – is much higher as a team of four?"

Danzo breathed out slowly before nodding thoughtfully, "Hmm."

Before any of the council could change their minds, Hiruzen signed the scroll, "Then I'll make the announcement tomorrow." Standing up, he finally broke into a smile, "Now if you don't mind, I have a grandson, who I'm sure is waiting very impatiently for me."

Danzo left the room first, without a word. Koharu followed at a slower pace while Homura barely managed to cover a yawn as he trailed behind her.

As the door closed behind them, Sarutobi picked up his hat. It would take time to sway them to his side and to find enough material to convince them of Danzo's machinations. He would need more than just the support of his student, who had been away from the village and would arguably be seen more as an outsider who no longer was in touch with what the village truly needed.

He needed someone who had their own pull, particularly with the jounin, who had the respect and closer ties to the rest of the shinobi.

*

Staring into those black eyes, Shikaku found himself strangely reminded of the moment right before he decided to accept the position of Jounin Commander.

"Why are you here?"

He was slightly surprised that the child had chosen to break the silence. He held the boy's gaze for another second before he answered, "I came to speak with your caretaker."

The boy's eyes narrowed.

Shikaku expanded his statement, "About your medicine." He lifted the wrapped package in his left hand to support his statement.

The boy's knuckles were white, clenched tightly around the pendant. Despite the boy's tension, he spoke calmly and clearly, "Caretaker?"

Shikaku quirked an eyebrow. He supposed it was possible the caretaker hadn't had the chance to introduce herself to the child in the uproar unknowingly set off by the child when he left the hospital by himself. Then again, from the child's clothes, perhaps he  _had_  known.

Hayate had seemed unusually exasperated when he had related the morning's investigations to Shikaku – which was totally understandable. The hospital's security had needed some updates for some time now. It might have been excusable before, with the wars, the recovery from the wars, and then the confusion over the sudden loss of an entire clan. However, it wasn't like this was the first time an Uchiha child had left the hospital without adult supervision.

Shikaku nodded carefully, "There's been a caretaker assigned to you and your twin."

The boy's gaze flickered for a moment before returning, "That doesn't explain why you're  _here_."

Shikaku twisted one side of his mouth upwards in wry acknowledgement as he nodded, "Nostalgia, mostly. I didn't expect to find anyone here."

"Ah." The child continued to watch him warily.

Silence fell between them once more. As he waited to see what the kid would say, Shikaku was reminded of his uncle's words.  _The first to move sets the field, but also shows his hand._

His eyes fell upon the darkened stain on the boy's jacket. He would have preferred not to play these sorts of  _games_  with a child; he needed to speed this up. Making his decision, Shikaku asked bluntly, "How did you know it was going to happen?" It was an open-ended and vague question.

He saw the boy's breath catch, "What do you mean?" The question was a push to see what cards he held.

"The scroll – or should I say scrolls?"  _Yes, I've seen your scroll and looked at your puzzles._ Part of him admired how the boy failed to react to his words. Another buried part of him was disquieted that the child had apparently planned out his last words.  _Though what he hoped we'd be able to accomplish with his vague wording remains to be seen._

Perhaps what was more worrying was why the wording had been so vague. As the scroll had been presented to him, the boy had written those words with the assumption that he would be safely dead, out of reach from any reprisal attempts. By that premise, there was little reason to use employ such riddles unless the child was worried that either one of them couldn't be trusted, which would explain why all three had been pulled together, or that the child was worried about them being under surveillance.

Still ambiguous as ever, the child replied, "I had a bad feeling."

"Seems too detailed for it to be a bad feeling."

The child shrugged carefully with one shoulder, "It seemed silly."

What was silly was him standing there dancing around a topic with an injured child. Shikaku bridged the two meters and dropped into a crouch. He reached out with one hand toward the boy's shoulder and noted how the Uchiha didn't recoil. Hovering his hand an inch away from making contact, he asked, "May I?"

The boy gave him a tight polite smile and released his hold on his necklace to gingerly pull the neckline of his shirt down.

One look at the sodden bandages and Shikaku was pulling the shirt back up, "We should replace those bandages. Can you walk or do you need help?"

Before the boy could answer, Shikaku leant closer and scooped him up, "Never mind, my wife would kill me if she knew I let an injured child walk."

"I – "

"Consider it a favor to me?" Shikaku asked as he readjusted his hold. He suspected the boy was flushing from embarrassment.

"Ok."

He made his way out of the training grounds in silence, aware of the child studying his face the entire way. By the time the main road was visible, Shikaku realized that the tension in the child's body had left. He looked down, noting the child's closed eyes and the necklace that rested between the boy's sharp collarbones.

The pendant was a shogi piece with the character 'king' carved at the center. In some ways, it was the most important piece in the game. Once that piece was lost, the game was over.

Did the boy see himself as a 'king', the most important piece? From the scrolls, he doubted that the child had that sort of egocentric view. At the same time, if he was right about the boy's abilities, then the piece could be interpreted in a similar, but simultaneously different manner.

If the player could be considered as the king, (for if the king was lost, then the player was lost as well), then the king was making the final decisions for all of the rest of the pieces. In other words, the safety of the other pieces rested on the king's shoulders.

Shikaku lifted the child as he stepped over a fallen tree. At the same time, despite this responsibility, the king had very little mobility, very little power. Was this how the child saw himself – responsible for so many but powerless to act?

That realization made Shikaku think back to what he had witnessed in the clearing just moments before. He hoped the child didn't blame himself.

As he stepped onto the main road, he resettled the boy against his shoulder so that one hand supported the child's weight, while another rested at the back of the boy's head. He raised his brows as his pinky rested just over the child's pulse point.

With a soft rumble he asked, "Kazuki-kun, how much of the future do you see?"

The boy remained loose in his hold. Admirable.

"Never mind. Come find me when you're ready to talk."

Facing away with one cheek on the man's shoulder, Kazuki peeked one eye open and watched the forest grow smaller into the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to Bonnie for betaing.
> 
> Conception Notes:  
> Hospital Security: There are a couple indications in the series that indicate that the security in the hospital isn't very strict (e.g. the empty receptionist desk when Gaara walks in to attack Lee, Sasuke slipping out of bed to overhear the nurses gossiping after the massacre). I'm assuming that the hospital is similar to the public transit system in the states (specifically the MBTA), where it is very difficult to institute the type of security that might be expected in places such as the airport without seriously inconveniencing everyone. I'm assuming that it's expected that either the patient's friends/family or the nurses serve as the security… I admit, I was definitely influenced a little by Mokulule's Wish, where a lot of Tsunade's reforms have slipped on the wayside.


	11. Reach

That year, snowfall came unusually early.

Drawing in his knees, Kazuki rested his back against the wall, in the small alcove next to the front door. He sighed as he heard his name called again. "Sasuke-kun! Kazuki-kuun! Kids, I know you might want to sleep in, but it's time to go!"

Noa was a well-intentioned lady, intent on teaching them all the proper manners that would befit children of their station. So when he skipped the funeral for the clan that had finally been arranged by strangers last month, she hadn't exactly been pleased.

He lifted his index finger from his knee to catch a snowflake. The edges quickly darkened, eating away towards the center, and soon there was only a droplet of water on his finger. He clenched his hand and let his head fall back to look at the overcast sky.

_Think of… a cloudless sky._

_Haha, don't give me that look. Aren't you always looking at the sky? Your father thinks that's the reason you're always getting lost. But, here close your eyes and imagine that sky._

_There's nothing to track; nothing to see but the bright expanse._

_Now, hold on to that emptiness, that focus._

_Open your eyes. Do you feel the difference in your chakra?_

He blinked and watched his breath hover in front of him as he sighed. His progress with his sharingan seemed immeasurably slow without his mother. He lowered his head and looked at the wrapped box sitting next to him.

He missed her cooking.

Tucking his chin into his scarf, he stared absently at his hands. The day of the funeral, he had taken advantage of the empty house and catalogued everything that he'd hidden in his room. Everything – the chemistry set, chemical bottles, and knotted lanyards – was dusty but intact and undisturbed. It was when he cleaned and exchanged the items were hidden in his room that he came to the sudden realization that he was missing a handful of pills – the handful he had the night of the massacre.

He had been fairly certain that he had dropped most of the pills when he had scrambled to save his mother. Since he hadn't been questioned or heard anything about the medicine, he had hoped that either fire had consumed the pills or that he had dropped them in a place where they had been crushed before they could be discovered.

It was when he was reviewing his lanyards that he was reminded of the hospital visit by the stranger he suspected was Kabuto.

When he reviewed the visit in his mind, Kabuto had seemed to linger with unsaid anticipation, as if waiting for some sort of sign. Perhaps the spy, assuming he already was one, had merely been curious about the survivor of the massacre, but he wouldn't put it past the man to have somehow obtained a sample of the pill.

With that jarring realization, the reminder of the looming threats brought by a review of his lanyards, and the intrusive presence of Noa, he had spent most of that month exploring the compound, looking for any additional documentation on the sharingan. As long as he told Sasuke where he could be found and the findings of his explorations, his brother was only too ready to divert Noa's attention. Sasuke wasn't exactly passive aggressive. However, since direct hostility went against the manners with which he had been raised, he became more creative in the methods he used to show his rebellion against the perceived intruder. Kazuki might have felt bad if he hadn't seen the way the woman shrunk away from Naruto.

It was on these forays into the compound that he had gradually rebuilt a new focus of sorts. He had failed with the massacre, but there were still people to protect  _and people to bring back_. Aside from training himself, it was also clear that he couldn't –  _shouldn't_  – continue with his efforts alone.

He knew the ideal candidate to begin trusting in was Shikaku. As Jounin Commander, he would be aware of both the intra- and international political developments as well as the capabilities of most of the village's jounin. As the Nara clan head, he also had a presence within inter-clan relations and access to medical databanks that could prove invaluable if war started again – not to mention, the resources that came with connections to the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans. The close ties between the three clans had been one of the reasons why he thought organizing a festival between the Uchiha and Akimichi clans would have had a chance of stalling the massacre.

Kazuki glanced at the door as he finally began to register the cold. Would he be discovered now, if he waited just inside the front door?

"Kazuki-kun?! Sasuke-kun?! This isn't funny!" Probably.

Shrugging so that the scarf would cover his ears, he idly wondered what was holding up Sasuke before returning to his earlier thoughts. Aside from the man's positions, Shikaku's own talents experience as a strategist both on and off the combat field was arguably the man's most formidable resource.

He recalled the ease with which Shikaku had dismantled arguments in the war council for the Fourth Shinobi War before they had the chance to develop and the many times he had conceded a shogi game to the man, only to realize that the game had been over moves earlier.

But that reassuringly overwhelming strength ( _that steady heartbeat beneath his ear_ ), which he desperately sought, was also what caused him to hesitate.

His memories could be flawed – his existence was proof of that. He had made the wrong decisions before – he lost his parents (but not Itachi _-notyet_ ). If he jumped and trusted in the wrong person, if Shikaku was still as intelligent as before, which Kazuki was fairly certain he was ( _How much of the future do you see?_ ), then he could be jumping straight into a deep ravine, ignorant of the drop until he landed.

Thump, thump, thump.

As he heard the locks on the door disengage, he hurriedly he closed eyes and slackened his face.

"Relax, she's looking in the back."

Feeling something drop on his head, Kazuki opened one eye cautiously to see his twin standing in front of him. Seeing no sign of Noa, Kazuki pulled the garment off from his head.  _A sweater?_

"Put it on before you catch a cold." With that said, Sasuke turned and started walking.

Rolling his eyes, Kazuki shrugged the sweater on and grabbed the cloth wrapped parcel beside him, "Yeah, yeah." Trailing behind Sasuke, he stifled a yawn.

As he tucked his hands under his armpits, he remembered the warmth of Shikaku's embrace, which contrasted sharply with the clinical gaze with which he had been studied on the training grounds. Before, he had always known that he could lean on his old man's guidance, but now, Shikaku wasn't his old man. The obligations the man held were undoubtedly different from before, and he had very little with which to predict the man's reactions.

Still, it was only his own apprehension that was stopping him from seeking more information.

_Come find me when you're ready to talk._

He really didn't have any more excuses to avoid the man.

*

Listening to the conversation in front of them, Sakura watched with growing nervousness as Ino's smile twitched wider and wider but never reached her eyes. The girls in front of them made no effort to hide their excited chatter.

"No way!"

"It worked last time didn't it? Besides, it's not like it's very hard either – Kazuki just sleeps all the time anyway."

"But still…"

"It's  _Sasuke-kun_." And didn't that just explain everything?

Sakura bit her lip just as her friend came to a sudden stop, "Ino?"

Her friend's fixed smile looked the slightest bit deranged. Nevertheless, Ino turned her attention to Sakura. Through gritted teeth, she answered in a conversational tone, "Those… harpies..." She shook her head, smile shrinking to a more socially-acceptable and less off-putting size. Clapping her hands together, she grinned, "Let's go Sakura!"

Pulled along by her hand, Sakura tried to muster a protest as Ino bowled past the girls in front of them without so much as an apology, "Ino, what-?"  _What the hell?!_

"That stupid kid's not falling for anybody's tricks on my watch!"

Hurrying to regain her balance as Ino continued to yank her down the streets, Sakura questioned breathlessly, "You mean Kazuki-san?"

She hurriedly snatched back her arm the moment Ino released her to gesture frenetically in the air, "Ami thinks she can get Sasuke-kun by using Kazuki?! I knew she was mean, but I didn't think she was  _that_  …geeeyRRRaaarGGHH!"

Sakura made a small bow of apology to a glaring bystander –  _Mind your own business, lady!_  – and hurriedly caught one of Ino's hands and tugged – switching their previous roles. Even as she guided Ino towards the Academy, the blonde was still ranting nonsensically and gesticulating viciously with her other free hand, "I mean really! You just don't  _do_  that!"

On one hand, she could understand Ino's indignation at Ami for daring to think about befriending Kazuki for the sole-purpose of getting close to Sasuke. On the other hand, she didn't think Ami really had much of a chance considering how often Kazuki slept through class. She also didn't see why Ino was  _that_  upset.

Now that they had entered a less-busy side street, Sakura glanced back, "Why are you so…?" Searching for the right words to say, she ended up making circular gestures in the air.

Ino stepped up, tugged her hand free, and raised both arms over her head, "Are you kidding? Kazuki's so oblivious – he probably won't even notice her advances!"

Sakura furrowed her brow, "So what's the problem?"

Ino rolled her eyes and stomped forwards on the path as she ranted, "She'll just show up at his house, acting all polite and junk – probably with food! Oh, I know, she'll probably make bentos, and pretend to bring them to Kazuki, only they're really for Sasuke-kun and-"

Even as she smiled and nodded her agreement, a part of her wanted to give her friend a skeptical look.  _Sounds like_ you've _thought a lot about this_. She quickened her pace so that she could walk beside her friend, "Why weren't you this concerned when she gave Naruto a bento?"

Ino sent her an exasperated look, "That's Naruto! He's his own defense – there's no way she'd be able to stand hanging out with him for very long." Suddenly she sent Sakura a small impish grin, "Besides, he already has his eye on someone."

Sakura puffed out her cheeks, but before she could reply, Ino stilled. Halting, Sakura moved so that she could better see Ino's expression, "Ino?"

"You know how my dad likes to hang out with the Akimichi?"

At Ino's suddenly somber demeanor, Sakura felt her indignation die. She fought harder to stamp down the envy that curled up at the reminder of the different background that Ino came from – the advantages a shinobi-born kid had over a child from civilian parents.

Ino looked down, "Well, Chouji said some things and…"

She raised her head and pursed her lips, "Well, no one should have to deal with  _her_."

Sakura peeked up at Ino. Uneasy at the lingering solemnity, Sakura spoke hesitantly, "Are you sure you don't maybe like Kazuki-san instead?"

She shrieked and ran as Ino made a lunge for her, "I DO NOT! TAKE THAT BACK!"

Laughing, she ran as Ino gave chase. It wasn't like she was making that accusation randomly. Ino had often complained at having to "deal with" Chouji and Kazuki whenever her dad asked her to deliver packages to the Akimichi.

_Anyone who complains that much…_

Despite her efforts, Ino caught up to her right in front of the classroom door. But instead of retaliating, Ino grabbed her elbow and whispered into her ear, "They're coming! Quick, sit in front of Kazuki, I'll sit behind him."

Before she could protest, Ino had already pushed her into the classroom and was moving past her to sit behind the Uchiha twins. She huffed and suppressed the urge to stomp her way to the seat that Ino was motioning her towards with all the subtlety of a raging boar. Rubbing her elbow, she shouldered her way past other chattering students, and took a seat only to realize who exactly it was she was sitting beside. Luckily, the class troublemaker seemed to be preoccupied with drawing something in a notebook that his other arm was curled protectively around.

She sighed and turned around, hoping to catch Ino's eye. She noticed how her friend didn't even seem out of breath after the chase. Ino always seemed to be ahead of her, no matter what she tried. She was snapped out of her musings by Ino's dismayed shriek.

"What are you wearing?!" Without so much as a warning, Ino leaned over the desk and started tugging at Kazuki's collar.

Kazuki flailed, "Ino? What-ack- ow! Stop it!"

"Why is this inside-out?!"

Instead of helping as Ino tugged off the sweater, flipped it, and stuffed it back on Kazuki, the two boys next to Ino's latest victim only stared, at first taken off guard, before being caught by amusement.

She hid a giggle at the newest target of Ino's protective streak. But her mirth quickly faded as she noticed the girls from earlier shooting Ino nasty looks. Part of her was relieved at being overlooked, but a simmering part of her felt indignant.

As much as she appreciated Ino's protective nature, she was getting tired of being discounted and underestimated as Ino's tagalong. She was studying to become a kunoichi.

She snuck a glance over her shoulder at Sasuke. She wanted to be recognized in her own right.

"Alright! Settle down!"

Snapping her head forward, she noticed a new visitor to their classroom trailing behind Iruka-sensei. He seemed pretty.

"Class!" Recognizing the unspoken warning in his voice, the classroom quickly quieted.

Iruka smiled, "I'd like everyone to welcome your new sensei – Mizu-"

"YOU'RE LEAVING?!" Beside her, Naruto had jumped onto the desk, pointing an accusatory finger towards Iruka.

She leaned away with a wince and rubbed her ear at the boy’s loud volume. Why did he always insist on interrupting Iruka?

"-ki." Without missing a beat, Iruka continued, "Naruto sit down, I'm not leaving. Mizuki- will be  _joining_  me in teaching this class."

Sakura heard clothing rustle behind her just as Naruto hopped back down, "Oh."

There was a half beat of expectant silence as the class waited for Naruto to provide more entertainment through his customary rambunctious protests while Iruka waited Mizuki to give his self-introduction.

"Hi everyone –" As Mizuki stepped up, Sakura slouched. As annoying as Naruto was in the past, for some reason she felt a little dissatisfied at his recent mellow behavior. Judging from the glances flashed in her general direction from the rest of the class, she wasn't the only one.

*

Passing out the last of the pretest worksheets, Iruka rejoined Mizuki at the front of the room. Nudging Mizuki with his elbow, he grinned at his childhood friend, "So what'd you think?

Mizuki smiled back, "I can see why you enjoy teaching."

Moving away, Iruka turned to grab the chalkboard eraser and began wiping the board, "It's great we can work together again."

Finishing with corrections, Mizuki flipped over the final page and twisted in his seat, "Yeah, I can't believe it took this long."

About to reply, Iruka noticed a student lingering at the side. Raising his voice, he smiled encouragingly, "Oh Hinata-chan? Are you done? Just place the test here." As she stepped forward, Iruka reminded, "And don't forget to pick up the handout." From the corner of his eye, he could see a distinctive figure in orange move.

Before he could speak, Naruto had jumped down the stairs and leapt forwards to slap down a sheet on the desk. Ignoring the glares of his classmates, the boy turned around with a challenging grin at Sasuke, who was making his way down the stairs at a more sedate pace, paper in hand. As the two passed each other, he saw Sasuke flash Naruto a glimpse of his sheet, causing the blond to turn beat red.

Even as the sputtering blond turned around and pointed ( _he really needed to remind the boy of how rude that gesture was_ ), Sasuke continued walking towards the desk. As he turned in the worksheet, he nodded politely to both teachers and returned to his seat quietly, unlike the blond who had stomped his way back.

Curious, Iruka turned over the top sheet on the pile and hid a smile. Sasuke must have switched the two sheets right before Naruto raced to turn in his paper; at the top of the sheet that the Uchiha had just turned in was Naruto's name in a large untidy scrawl.

He glanced back up to see Naruto twitching furiously in his seat, staring daggers over his shoulders at Sasuke. He never thought he would be so relieved at the return of the blond's former spirit.

He remembered the days following the massacre with the noticeable absence of certain students and the oppressive silence; everyone had spoken in lowered tones, as if it were taboo to do otherwise. He had felt guiltily relieved knowing that somehow he hadn't taught any of those deceased.

Still, two of his students had been in the hospital. Chouji and Naruto had also been absent. Assuming that Naruto had joined Chouji in looking after Kazuki in the hospital, he hadn't been truly concerned until he had tried to visit Naruto and found the boy's apartment cordoned off. Luckily, he had decided, before charging into the Hokage Tower in a full-blown panic, to check with Naruto's other friend about Naruto's whereabouts.

Chouza had greeted him at the door, ushering him in with what had seemed to be odd relief until Chouza had related the conditions in which Naruto had been found the night before. He remembered the surprise in which Naruto had stared back at him when he entered Chouji's room, right before Chouza had taken his son out for more training, leaving the two alone.

He didn't know why Chouza had thought that he of all people would know the right words to say.

_Naruto nodded a goodbye as Chouza left. His eyes flickered up to briefly meet Iruka's, before darting away back to his reflection in the window._

" _I heard Sasuke-kun's out of the hospital."_

_The boy didn't move. Curled up on the windowsill, he looked like a small ball of orange in his oversized jumper. For some reason, the scene reminded Iruka of a sopping wet kitten's misery._

_Easing into the room, Iruka gently shut the door behind him, "It sounded like you got help for everyone just in time."_

_Face half-buried in his forearms, Naruto glared up at him with wide uncertain eyes._

_Iruka gave him a small smile, "If you hadn't found Chouza-san, Kazuki-kun might have been in serious trouble."_

_Naruto looked away and mumbled into his arms, "Chouza-san found me." Small fists tightened their grip on orange fabric, "I didn't find anyone."_

_Iruka let out a slow breath. He walked over to the corner nearest to the windowsill that Naruto was perched on and leaned against the wall, "That wasn't what Chouza-san said."_

_Naruto lifted his head, barely a centimeter from his arm; desperation and hope visibly warred on his face, "I_ **_tried_ ** _."_

_Iruka opened his mouth, concerned, but the boy spoke over him, "I knocked on all the doors, but nobody answered. No one. Not, one person."_

_Iruka closed his mouth._

" _Because of me, they almost… I didn't even know what to do- They were bleeding, and I couldn't do anything-I just –" Voice breaking, the boy ducked his head further in and pressed his forehead to his knees, hiding his face._

_Iruka closed his eyes and listened to the boy's ragged sobs and broken curses. Making his decision, he stood and then crouched so that he could be at the same eye-level as Naruto. Gently, he pulled the boy's arms away._

_Startled at his touch, the boy lifted his head just as Iruka began to speak slowly and as emphatically as he could, "Kazuki-kun." Iruka tightened his grip at Naruto's flinch and continued as if the boy hadn't reacted, "Sasuke-kun. They're both alive." He stared intently at Naruto, "Because of you, they got treated in time." Letting that sink in, his glance fell on the boy's fists._

" _As for not knowing what to do…well, nobody is prepared for everything." He carefully took the small hand and uncurled the tiny fingers, "But you can do your best to prepare, so that the next time…." Reaching down, he pulled a roll of bandages from his pack and placed it into Naruto's hand, "…you won't be caught off guard."_

_With a crooked smile, he held Naruto's fist with both hands, "You said you didn't know what to do."_

_A small nod._

" _How about we practice?" He felt the boy's fingers clench around the bandages._

Apparently, something he said had sunk in because Naruto showed up to class the next day. From that day, the boy would seek him out after the day's lessons, quietly requesting a second or third demonstration. Gradually, the boy's sudden taciturn nature began to fade. As he scanned the rest of Naruto's pretest, he was torn between the urge to laugh and the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Next to him, Mizuki stood up and turned off the alarm before it went off, "Alright. Even if you're not done, please turn in your tests."

As Mizuki continued to give instructions, Iruka gathered the rest of the pre-tests together. Naruto's pretest really summed up the child's personality as a student. Some blanks were filled to the very edges with diagrams and annotations. Other blanks were filled with choice commentary with full illustrations about the boy's opinions on the practical applications of the posed question.

The last blank seemed to have what Iruka suspected was a shinobi, stabbing a kodachi into the remaining text of the question.

The boy was a teacher's dream – and nightmare. If he saw the lesson's value, he'd behave like a starving puppy, visibly hanging on to every syllable spoken as if the words were bowls of ramen. If he didn't, he'd loudly complain –if he hadn't already left.

Iruka watched with some amusement at the developing signs of a familiar pattern of behavior in the class. The kid's attitude had apparently also been infectious.

He darted a glance at Mizuki, who was still lecturing, before returning his attention to Naruto's tapping fingers.

It still surprised him at times, to realize that he had become an Academy teacher before Mizuki, who was five years his senior. Perhaps it was the inner troublemaker in him that made him keep his mouth shut, or maybe it was the part of him that loved to teach that insisted on testing Mizuki's reaction. Whatever it was, Iruka held himself back and watched as this time Sasuke tapped lightly on the desk as Mizuki shuffled over to begin writing on the chalkboard.

Since Mizuki had always claimed to know his tells, Iruka took a seat and rested his chin against his hand, such that his fingers covered his mouth. Pretending to be preoccupied with skimming the answers on the pretests, he watched as Sasuke shot a glance at Chouji, who had been staring at the windows to the left of Sasuke ever since Naruto had begun tapping.

Clearing his throat, Iruka made the pretense of reshuffling the papers, shooting a glance at Mizuki as he did so. From the constant looks in Uchiha Kazuki's direction, he suspected that Mizuki wasn't as unaffected as he appeared.

No teacher ever enjoyed an inattentive audience, let alone a visibly sleeping one.

At the corner of his eye, he saw Chouji nod. Apparently Naruto hadn't been paying attention to the chalkboard at all, because right after Chouji nodded, Naruto leaned back carefully to reach behind Sakura and flick Kiba's shoulder.

As the pink haired girl obliviously leaned forward, scribbling furiously in her book, Kiba leaned back with a scowl that quickly morphed into an anticipatory grin. As his ninken's tail began to wag above his head, Kiba sucked in a breath before letting out a long and loud burp.

The class turned almost in unison to stare and then giggle. Before Mizuki could resume the lesson, Chouji ducked to the floor as Naruto screamed a war cry and jumped over the table, tackling Sasuke to the floor. As the duo fell to the floor, one of them knocked the sleeping Kazuki out of his chair onto Chouji's back.

Iruka would have been more concerned if he hadn't known that Naruto was purposefully telegraphing his moves. He hoped it was purposeful at least. After three hours of non-stop drilling the night before, he would have been severely disappointed if Naruto had forgotten the basics of announcing intent through weight distribution.

As the children scrambled out of their seats to watch the ensuing fight, Iruka glanced at Mizuki. The man was already stepping forward, waving him back.

He bit his lip for a moment before shrugging and leaning back in his seat. Pulling the pretests into his lap, he scanned the answers, flicking his eyes over the top of the papers now and then to monitor the situation.

"Alright, settle down. Settle down now." Mizuki pushed his way up the stairs through the crowded students, pushing a few or so into nearby seats as he went. Just as he finally seemed to reach the same landing where the fight had begun, another angry yell ripped through the room, "YOU STEPPED ON AKAMARU!"

At the back of the room, in the corner next to the door and farthest from Iruka, Kiba pointed at the crowd surrounding Mizuki. Iruka gave up on reviewing the pretests and stood up. This was getting ridiculous; the boy's accusation was clearly baseless – the puppy was on his head.

Before Mizuki could say anything, the sound of a window snapping open was heard. Sasuke was holding up the window, as Naruto helped shove Chouji, who had a sleeping Kazuki on his back, out the window. Iruka scratched his head and watched as Mizuki swiveled towards the escaping students only to pivot back at the sound of the classroom door slamming shut.

Kiba was gone.

He supposed he should help. Sighing, he pursed his lips. Effortlessly lifting students out of his way and into their seats along the way, he jogged towards the window.

Naruto, seeing his approach, moved faster and shoved the last Uchiha out the door. ("Quit shoving, you idiot!") Reaching the window just as the kid leapt out, he caught the sliding panel and slammed it back up so that he could lean out and scream, "GET BACK HERE!"

He watched as the children only ran faster and admired the speed at which Chouji had managed with Kazuki still on his back. Only Naruto turned around (after screaming "RUN FASTER DAMMIT!") with a wide grin and waved, "SEE YOU IN A BIT IRUKA-SENSEIIIII!"

_That kid was shameless._

*

 **Age 9**. Kazuki stared at the stone pillars that marked the front entrance to the Nara lands.

Ahead of him, Sasuke trudged to a stop, "Something wrong?"

Gripping the package more tightly in his arms, he shrugged and walked forward to rejoin his twin, "No, just thinking."

They resumed their former pace in silence.

"I'm sure she'll like it."

Kazuki turned his head in surprise, but Sasuke had just walked faster with a muttered, "C'mon, we don't want to be late – 'specially if we're meeting her husband."

He smoothed down the tape on the wrapping. The month after his hospital "release" had been hectic. He hadn't forgotten the expression on Sasuke's face when Shikaku had brought him back. But in addition to dealing with a grumpy hovering twin, he also had to deal with a caretaker who seemed intent on physical tying him to the bed with blankets – as if that would help his shoulder heal. Between the physical reminders of what he'd lost at home and the whispers when he stepped outside compound walls, he almost wished for the distraction of another visit from Shikaku.

But apparently fate liked to be contrary, because a month and a half passed without incident without any sign of the man. Later, piecing together the tidbits of gossip, he learned that Shikaku had been requested by the daimyo's newest aide to renegotiate the Land of Fire's mining rights in a small town bordering Takigakure.

So when Chouji had invited him to an Akimichi-hosted neighborhood potluck, he accepted.

For some reason, he hadn't thought that Yoshino would be there - or that she would be in a wheelchair.

"Where did you learn how to use chakra strings?"

Kazuki blinked and looked up from where he had been picking at the tape, "What?"

Sasuke gestured at the package, "Chakra strings. How did you learn?"

Kazuki blinked again, "Oh, to use this?" He shrugged, "Watched other people do it. Moving this only requires the basics."

Sasuke hummed noncommittally and scrutinized him. For an instant Kazuki thought he'd be called out on his lie, when his twin asked, "Can you teach me?"

Kazuki blinked, "Sure." As if he could say anything else. Spying the old cherry tree that marked their destination looming ahead, he readjusted his hold on the package, just as a voice rang out, "Are you going to make me wait all day?"

He saw Sasuke wince before breaking into a light jog towards the speaker. Sighing, he followed at a brisk walk. After all of the work he had put into this model, he wasn't going to risk it breaking before he had the chance to show her.

As he slowed down, he could see her starting to frown, "I thought I told you. No gifts were necessary."

_As blunt as ever._

That straightforwardness was the only reason he had agreed to the dinner, knowing that both Shikaku and Sasuke would be in attendance.

Actually, that straightforwardness was the whole reason they were here.

When he had first seen her at the potluck, he had immediately decided that he would leave. (One convenient thing about his shoulder injury had been the way he could use it to beg off pretty much anything). He hadn't wanted to deal with any more complications in his life. Unfortunately, Chiharu had taken his approach as a request for more food. Before he could thank her and leave, he had been ushered into the kitchen right in time to hear one of the women crudely ask about the childless status as a Nara matriarch.

.

_Aside from the running faucet and simmering pot, the kitchen was absent of conversation. He looked at the last speaker – if he wasn't mistaken, she was one of the senior members on the Nara council. Even as he digested what had been said, his focus was on the suddenly blank expression on Yoshino's face. Beside him, he could hear Chiharu shift uncomfortably._

_He couldn't blame her. This was Nara politics. As wife of the Akimichi head, Chiharu was in a delicate position._

_In his most childlike voice, he gazed upwards at Chouji's mother, "Are you_ **_sure_ ** _she's a council member? Noa-san said it's not proper to use the 'kuh' word in polite company. Are we not polite company?"_

_His audience tittered as the old woman flushed._

_He turned and pretended to trip on his own feet, sending his empty bowl to the ground. He didn't want to make any enemies. It was best if his words were dismissed as those of an ignorant child. As Chiharu quickly lifted him from the shattered fragments, he noticed that his hands were trembling. Chiharu sat him down on the countertop next to Yoshino. While she checked his feet for any glass shards, the council member quickly left under the pretense of carrying out more dishes. Another woman quickly cleaned up the broken bowl and left to dispose of the pieces, just as the third woman's child summoned her._

" _I think the soup is boiling over."_

_Chiharu looked up at Yoshino's voice. Sure enough, the ominous sound of sputtering water could be heard over the sizzling meat. Chiharu looked at Yoshino, "Can you watch him? Make sure he doesn't step on the floor yet?"_

_They both knew that Yoshino couldn't move without rolling over the smaller shards and carrying those shards to the rest of the house._

" _Sure."_

_With one last look, Chiharu hurried off._

So much for leaving early.  _He stared down at his hands and tried not to think about what he had just learned._

_Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Yoshino swiveling the chair to face the stovetop. A moment later, the silence was broken by the occasional scrapes of the metal spatula against the cast iron skillet._

_He didn't exist. Correction, Shikamaru Nara never existed._

_Was he a frameshift mutation?_

_The pebble in the pond?_

_What was he?_

_Why did he have these memories? Were these memories? Why him?_

" _So what's your name?"_

_He looked up. The woman was still facing away from him, arm outstretched at an awkward angle to reach the stove top._

_Clang. ClangclangclinkClang._

" _Kazuki. Uchiha Kazuki."_

_He waited for the inevitable comment of sympathy for his recent losses._

" _Did you think I couldn't defend myself?"_

_He blinked as Yoshino hooked the end of the spatula to the lid and, with a grunt, covered the skillet. Setting down the spatula, she turned to face him with a raised eyebrow._

_Nonplussed, Kazuki blinked at her._

_She let out a short laugh and grinned at Kazuki. He remembered that grin. It had always foreshadowed when the woman was particularly excited about the creativeness of a punishment. He fought the urge to shrink back._

" _Please." She gestured at herself, "I know how to use my pity points."_

_She gave him a speculative glance, "With what happened to you, I'm sure you know what I mean."_

_He tensed._

" _Oh don't give me that look. Chiharu'd never introduce any child to that old crone. I may not know who you are, but I know Chiharu. You might have played the rest of the room, but you didn't play her."_

_She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, "I swear, it's like people think my brain's been amputated and not my leg."_

_Uncertain, he opened his mouth only for her to flap a hand at him._

_"Relax. I appreciate what you did. Just wanted to caution you about who you're trying to trick. **I** have connections." She paused and lowered her head just slightly to give him an intent look, " **You** don't."_

_He watched as a grimace flashed across her face, before she continued, "Well, you have Chouza and his wife and son." She reached down and lifted the blanket covering her legs. "Normally, that'd mean that you'd have the Akimichi's, along with the Nara's and Yamanaka's. But, well, with the edict, no clan will be able to stand with you without being scrutinized by the village."_

_She looked into his eyes as she reached down to massage her right thigh, just above where it ended, "…in case you didn't know."_

.

She was so different from his memories. Yet, in all the ways that mattered, she hadn't changed.

"Well hurry up. Food's gonna get cold. We can talk about your selective hearing then." Yoshino stepped out from under the shadows of the tree branches to greet them.

Sasuke snickered as he rolled his eyes. He still didn't know what insanity had struck him when he approached her three months later with his rough prototype.

This would be the fifth version. He held out the package with both hands, "It's weaponized."

At first, he had toyed with the idea of a prosthetic leg as a distraction at night, when he couldn't sleep. Then, as he jotted down his ideas, he realized that the memories of working with Kankuro had taught him more than he had thought. Between revising the details in his lanyards and working on the prosthetic, spring had flown by.

Accepting the package, she examined the shape of the package critically, "You realize this means I'm in your debt again."

She had also talked about debts when he had first given her the prosthetic. Somehow, being indebted to her meant that they had to accept her dinner invitations. Sasuke had just been eager to get away from Noa.

He shrugged, "See if you like it first." He shifted his weight to his other foot awkwardly, "Besides, you've given us a lot of advice."

She had. Dinners would have been incredibly awkward if it wasn't for the fact that she would often tackle conversation topics that most adults had avoided. She didn't sugarcoat topics.

He wasn't sure if Shikaku had mentioned him to her or if she just identified a little with their situation.

She raised her eyebrows. Dryly she retorted, "You overvalue my gossip." Shaking her head, she waved them forward.

He didn't know if she had really cared about them at first either. Maybe that lack of attachment on her part had made it easier to be blunt, and although part of him still missed her old presence, he was glad that such a connection was missing. It was easier.

It would have felt too much like he was replacing mother.

The dinners probably wouldn't have continued if he hadn't noticed how the ankle on the prosthetic would occasionally catch. After that, it seemed the logical to create a second version of the prosthetic… and a third… and a fourth. Another season passed, and suddenly she was almost like a distant aunt.

*

Na-ru-to. He finished the final character with a light flourish and laid down the brush. As the ink dried, Mizuki reviewed his annotations on the class roster.

Rubbing his eyes, he hoped his tiny scrawl would strain Tori's eyes.

As easy as the arrangement of passing along his notes on the behavior of his students, he hated the fact that he had even needed the arrangement.

He had watched, as first his peers in the field had advanced, followed by the less-skilled of his age-mates. It was embarrassing, especially at gatherings when everyone would talk about past achievements and the latest on-going missions. Soon, even those who had once eagerly sought his advice had surpassed him in rank. It was as if all of his sacrifices had been for nothing.

So when Tori had approached him and hinted that a mutually beneficial relationship was on the table, he had listened. He had listened and he had accepted even though he suspected that Tori was representing a man that wasn't exactly a sanctioned member of the village.

He knew he had been 'frozen' for three years now. The only way he was getting anywhere close to the Academy, to the future shinobi of Konoha, was if someone with connections vouched for him. As far as he was aware there was only one person who was both interested in the potential of children, who could not request reports on the children through official means but was still respected enough to have the pull to 'unfreeze' him.

*

Leaning against the door jamb, Shikaku watched as the Uchiha helped his wife into the new prosthetic. The other Uchiha stood to the side.

He had been shocked to find his wife standing upon his return home. Dealing with the daimyo's new aide had been exhausting, and so for a fleeting moment, he thought that he was having a waking dream. Then Yoshino had jumped on him and he had felt the unnatural hardness of her right calf hit his back.

He had been startled to learn that she had finally found a prosthetic that she liked. The leg actually didn't look very impressive by itself, until he saw it uncovered in motion.

And apparently the boy had made an improved version.

"Great, now flex your foot, with the heel pointed towards the ground."

If he hadn't been sure when the leg was unwrapped, he was fairly certain now. The attachment points for the chakra strings were fairly reminiscent of the ones used by the Sand puppeteers.

"Now pull."

He tensed as a blade shot out from the heel.

"What do you think?"

He recognized the gleam in his wife's eyes as the boy continued to explain and demonstrate the other features. She loved it. He studied the boy crouched in front of her. After getting roped into the Hokage's secret mission, he had been thinking about getting one of the others who had been named on the scroll to deal with the boy – especially since they didn't exactly have a clan attached to their names. Additionally, they were also known for their… unwillingness to grab power. But now, considering how his wife had apparently grown attached to the boy, he supposed that wasn't exactly an option any more.

He sighed. He didn't know where he was going to find the time to deal with this.

"Kazuki." The boy turned to his twin.

"We should get going."

The boy glanced at the clock and pulled a face, "Ah, I'm sorry, but Sasuke and I need to go."

His twin was already gathering their coats.

Yoshino stood up, "Already?" He marveled again at the ease with which she moved.

Before the boy could reply, his twin had shoved a coat onto his head and nodded politely, "Thank you for dinner."

Before the boy could untangle himself, his twin had given another small bow and was manhandling him to the door.

He followed them out, intent on walking them home until he felt his wife hold him back. She smiled at him, "Wait for it."

The door slammed.

He gave her a questioning look, which she missed. Following her back into the dining room, she answered his unspoken question as she began gathering the dishes, "They're dodging their caretaker; probably staying at Naruto's place."

Knock. Knock.

She grinned, "Go get the door; I'll finish the dishes."

Nodding, he turned and walked down the hall. As he stepped down the landing in the foyer, he yawned. And so, he opened the door with watering eyes and a hand over his mouth to see a tired-looking woman.

"I'm sorry, but I was told that the Uchiha boys would be here?"

He blinked at her abrupt manner.

She drooped with a sigh, "Never mind. Thank you for your time." She made an about turn and muttered, "Little troublemakers. I ask you to leave a note…"

Before he thought to correct her apparent assumption that she had been given erroneous information, she was already halfway down the front door.

He blinked, shrugged, and shut the door. Standing in the dark, he leant his forehead against the wooden paneling and let out a soft laugh.

It had been awhile since he had seen his wife this animated. If the boy really could see the future, if he was trying to protect himself from Shikaku, then he had accomplished that quite masterfully. Somehow, though, recalling the stumbling efforts of the boy – no, Kazuki – to find the hole for his head in his jacket as he was pushed towards the front door by his twin, he doubted that the boy had that intention in mind.

Besides, that assumption wouldn't exactly be fair to his wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again go to Bonnie for betaing.  
> Conception Notes  
> What's a frameshift mutation? I'm dramatically simplifying this, but we know that a mutation generally refers to when the expression of DNA is different from "normal". What usually happens (and I'm gonna just anthropomorphize proteins here) is that the instructions of DNA (aka the blueprints for how your body's supposed to be built and run) get copied by a messenger and taken to a construction worker. The instructions are basically given in a long string of letters without spaces. Every three letters serves as a part number, which the construction worker matches to a part (aka amino acid). Eventually, the type and assembly order of these parts determines the type of machine (aka protein) that is produced. Now suppose the messenger copies the message wrong and omits/adds a letter. All of the part numbers would be changed (i.e. the 'frame' is shifted), resulting in a completely different machine…and that's basically what a frameshift mutation is.


	12. Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie's an awesome beta :D

"You're certain." Nagato stated the question as a statement.

"He'll join." The reply was confident, just like all of their previous correspondences – as if the speaker held fate's strings in his hands.

The man's dismissive arrogance was irritating.

Nagato watched as the orange mask fizzled out from the air, leaving him with the view of the city below. He watched his breath fog on the window and listened to the quiet pitter patter of the rain on the metal rooftops.

Finally, he spoke, "You disapprove."

From his right, in the doorway that led to the adjoining office, Konan appeared, "Yes."

He turned to look at her and waited, but she remained silent. Returning to the window, he studied the bustling crowds moving below in a sea of dots, "He'd be a strong asset."

"If he was loyal."

"Madara assures me that he will be."

He heard her move to his side.

"He killed his entire clan."  _He's from Konoha._

"He wants power."  _So does Orochimaru-san; he once wanted to kill us and now he follows us._ He turned to face her, "His clan wasn't strong enough; we are."

He watched as a water droplet slip down, merging with other ones to blaze a larger trail down the window, "Besides, we can pair him with Kisame-san. They can bond on the shared experience of killing their kin."

*

Sasuke opened his eyes with his heart racing in fear. He blinked once and slowly registered the heat in his eyes and the dampness that trailed down into his hair, behind his ear. Releasing a careful sigh, he stared blindly at the ceiling, trying to erase the remnants of the nightmare from his memory.

_The handle of the kunai gleamed from where it was buried, centimeters from the left shoulder, over the heart. Something was wrong with that image, but he couldn't think with the screaming – who was screaming? But now the attacker was turning to face him -_

_\- and the clouds had parted, allowing moonlight to cascade downward and illuminate the assailant's face – Itachi. But those eyes weren't red – just an empty black. Nausea climbed as he registered the red on those lips even as they apologized and smiled. Dark droplets dripped down that moving chin like the dread that sank in his heart, "Sorry, Sasuke."_

"Nii-san."

Startled, he sat up, jerking away from the direction of the whisper. To his right, half sprawled across the covers was Kazuki. Sometime during the night, his brother must have come in to sit by his bed.

He slowly relaxed and watched as Kazuki twitched and murmured into the sheets. Carefully, he flipped aside the covers and crawled onto all fours to peer at his clock.

The red digits taunted him. 3:00 AM.

He sighed.

He wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep anytime soon. Slowly, he inched around his brother and dropped to the floor. As he stood up, he glanced again at Kazuki and watched his brothers' shoulders rise and fall.

_He was fine._

Wiping his face with the back of his hands, he picked up the clothes that he had flung over his bed post and swiftly changed. On his way out the door, he paused, sighed, and turned back.

Returning to the bed, he studied his brother. Carefully, he reached out and began untangling the strings and ribbons from his brother's fingers. He didn't know who his brother was trying to fool. He wrapped the strings together and gingerly picked up the misshapen bundle of knots and ribbons that looked even more hideous in the light. The colorful eyesore might have made sense when they were three, but after watching his brother build a fully armed prosthetic limb, he knew that the mangled appearance of his brother's lanyards was not a simple accident.

If anything, given the intent manner in which his brother would tie and untie knots, he suspected that they were a diary of sorts.

Placing the bundle on his nightstand, he studied the way his brother was sprawled out over the covers. With that thin nightshirt, the idiot was going to catch a cold. He briefly considered the idea of simply throwing Kazuki onto the bed, but decided against it – that could wake him. Shrugging, he went to the foot of his bed. Grabbing the end of his sheets, he walked around where his twin sat and haphazardly draped the blankets around his brother – chair and all.

_Good enough._

Leaving the room, he crept down the hall by pressing himself to the wall, avoiding spots where he knew the floorboards would creak. It was annoying how this was necessary just because that caretaker still hadn't left.

The woman's presumptuous manner grated on his nerves. He had grudgingly accepted her presence when Kazuki had first returned, because he assumed that she knew better than him on how to help Kazuki recover. He had gritted his teeth through her condescending lectures and nodded jerkily as he accepted her admonishments. Then, she had presumed to take his father's study and convert it into her bedroom.

He knew it was a "logical", and acceptable, step for her to do; at least she hadn't taken his parents' bedroom. But the way she had assumed control over the household had ignited a firm dislike in him for her. (And so, Yoshino forever won his support when she had expressed shocked disgust upon learning of Noa's actions). The final straw was when she firmly escorted Naruto out of the compound walls during one of their training sessions.

He paused as the last step in the staircase let out a low protest at his weight. When he heard nothing, he continued his trek to the front door and grabbed his sandals before padding to the window that led into the courtyard. Gingerly sliding the window open, he leapt out.

Before the massacre, he had firmly labeled Naruto as Kazuki's obnoxiously loud friend. He'd tolerated the rude pointing and insults.  _Occasionally_ , he'd volley back some of his own (because the dumbass just made it too irresistibly easy at times). In the aftermath, in the sudden silence of the compound and the oppressive whispers that followed his every move, the abrupt absence of the blond's distractive behavior had affronted him.

So he had picked a fight. But instead of retaliating, the blond had enlisted the help of Chouji, and pretty soon, he had found himself bundled off to the Akimichi's compound to stay for two weeks – where the blond then proceeded to avoid him – again.

But after days of raging and crying, of grieving and sobbing, - because whether or not Itachi had killed everyone, he still had betrayed Sasuke by  _not being there_  - he lacked the energy to hunt down the blond and convinced himself that it was a pointless task.

But of course, that was when Naruto chose to show up.

They had sat in silence at first, facing each other over Kazuki's hospital bed. At that time, he had every intention of returning the favor and ignoring the kid. But then of course, Naruto had to choose the one thing to say that would break that resolve.

" _Your brother… they said he did this."_

" _Was that a question?"_

" _No."_

" _..."_

" _What do you want, Naruto?"_

" _I'm going with you – when you go after him."_

He hadn't answered, and they had lapsed into silence for the rest of their hospital visit. However, after that, the blond had stopped avoiding him, and for the last week before his home was fully repaired, Naruto had begun to invite himself to Sasuke's training sessions. Any form of structured practice went straight out the window in favor of constant spars.

Their spars were almost as loud and rude as before, if slightly more subdued with their insults and slightly more vicious in their attacks against one another. They both recognized a hidden desperation in each other, as well as the unspoken agreement to avoid the topic of Itachi around the Akimichis.

In fact, the next time they broached the topic of vengeance was the day after Kazuki had woken up. When his twin hadn't shown up for dinner, he had assumed that Kazuki had visited Chouji or Naruto. When he still hadn't been able to find his brother, he had asked Chouji to request his father's help while he and Naruto continued searching. Between the two of them, he figured they'd know all the places Kazuki could be.

Maybe, he just wanted to see someone's reaction – someone who might be able to understand and who wasn't Kazuki. Maybe, it was something else. But as they raced across the compound, he had found himself confiding in Naruto. He talked about how Itachi had sought to kill Kazuki.

"… _because he doesn't have the 'capacity'."_

" _Huh?"_

He talked about his own concerns of his twin's foolishness, of Kazuki's insistence that Itachi was innocent. He talked about how he wanted Kazuki to be right, but knew that he was probably wrong.

And to his surprise, instead of disagreeing like he had almost wanted, Naruto had nodded with unfocused eyes, as if he was recalling some personal experience.

" _He trusts too easily."_

Luckily, before either of them could become too frantic, the Nara had returned with Kazuki, who apparently had been wandering in the training grounds.

After his confession, he made an effort to actively train with the blond, instead of just sharing the same training space. He had his doubts about such a decision, of course. But, as much as he hated to admit it, the dumbass had been useful once before.

" _Naruto's the one who found you guys."_

He'd come close to regretting that decision several times; he didn't know it was possible to be that ignorant of so many fundamentals after almost three years in the Academy. Nevertheless, he had to admit that once Naruto understood a concept, his creativity could take the applications of the concept to a whole other level.

It was disturbing.

It took an alarmingly short time for Naruto to start challenging him in spars. More often than not, Naruto would simply outlast him. But occasionally, the knucklehead would pull off a maneuver that would completely take him by surprise. It was as exhilarating as it was frustrating. (It was infuriating when the maneuver was clearly stumbled upon by accident).

He knew he was improving through these spars. So when Noa had banned Naruto from the compound premises, he'd been incensed.

So he'd given into Naruto's pleas to skip class. He smirked. The expression on Noa's face when she'd finished a lecture on his attendance records only to see the clueless expression he'd adopted from Kazuki was priceless.

Spending that time reviewing something he could already execute perfectly was pointless. Better to use that time to work on things he  _knew_  needed improvement. He preferred it when they were able to snag Kazuki on their way out, which was only possible with Chouji. It became almost a game between him and Naruto to see who could coax out the best critique from Kazuki. Unfortunately, Iruka soon seemed to catch onto their distraction techniques, causing Naruto to get the bright idea to invite Kiba into the chaos.

He still thought they had been managing fine on their own. Naruto was loud enough for the whole group. Throw in Kiba and the dog and well… he was somewhat impressed that his twin could still doze amidst all that noise.

He shivered and picked up his pace on the familiar stone path. In the darkness, his soft footfalls seemed to echo. He stared at where he thought the street lamps were. Aside from the removal of bodies and bloodstains, the compound had been left mostly untouched.

As Yoshino had explained, such decisions fell under their purview. Since they were still minors in the eyes of Konoha's laws, such tasks could only be performed under the supervision of their caretaker; and there was no way either of them wanted Noa involved in the restoration of their clan.

Before that, it wasn't immediately obvious, but Sasuke was now sure that Noa had made a few attempts at getting their permission to make some changes. In hindsight, it was somewhat amusing to realize how many times they had derailed the woman's plans simply by their determination to avoid her.

At first, Sasuke had just been retaliating. If Naruto couldn't come, then he would go. It was just an added bonus that his antics could divert her attention and allow Kazuki to explore the compound grounds in peace – something that he hadn't been able to bring himself to do. Moreover, it gave him the opportunity to converse freely with Naruto about  _certain topics_  without fear of upsetting Kazuki.

As he stepped onto the dirt path that led to the clan training grounds, he rummaged in the pack that hung off his right thigh.  _Six kunai._ He frowned. He had forgotten to refill the pack before he left. He'd just have to be more careful with what he had. Reaching his destination, he reattached the pack to his left leg. He  _was_  going to master the running backhand throw with his left hand before Naruto. As he set up the targets, his mind resettled on the thoughts that had been plaguing him.

Watching Kazuki plan, construct, and revise those prosthetics for Yoshino had just made it even clearer that Kazuki wasn't a complete imbecile – no matter how much he acted like one at times with his laidback behavior. In fact, while he had always known that his brother wasn't totally stupid as a kid, that inkling had only started to really settle in when he'd started imitating his brother's mannerisms to annoy Noa.

Purposefully getting underestimated was surprisingly easy – and convenient. It was somewhat amazing to realize how much someone could get away with by being overlooked and dismissed.

In any case, that realization also made him revisit his dismissal of Kazuki's earlier assertions. What if he  _was_  right? What if Itachi was really innocent?

Before, the sense of betrayal and loss had simply stung too much. But now, with time as a buffer, he had finally been able to focus on the nuances of the question that had always followed.

If Itachi  _was_ innocent, why hadn't he returned? What or who was preventing him from returning?

How much trouble was he in?

Of course, that again was assuming that Kazuki was right. Putting all of his frustration in his next throw, he let out a wordless yell.

The kunai missed – by half a meter.

He stared into the bushes and sighed. As far as he could tell, even if the problem might have changed, the solution hadn't. He'd simply have to train harder if he had any hope of being able to  _do_ anything _._

*

Shikaku sighed into his steaming cup of tea that he was beginning to wish was sake. Why did Ibiki have to send  _her_? Sitting to his right, Anko tore of another dango ball from the skewer with her teeth. Chewing fiercely, she glared at the kunai on the counter before her.

It wasn't the most subtle piece of reconnaissance that he'd ever seen, but he guessed that she didn't particularly care. Reflected in the metal surface of the kunai was one of her former teammates, Maedate. The sandy-haired man was joined by three pre-teens, who were each holding up their packs for inspection. About the only thing the team had in common was that they were all bespectacled and wore their forehead protectors on their forehead. He looked on as the silver-haired genin affixed a black cloth over his face, joining the rest of his team in covering the lower halves of their faces. It looked as if they were preparing to leave the village – an action which was still restricted for Anko.

"Where are they going?"

At her question, he tilted his head down as he rubbed at the scar lining his temple, "Anko-san…"

She let out a short breath before abruptly beaming a clearly fake smile at him, "Excuse me. 'forgot where I was." She let out a loud belch.

He winced as several of the customers at the stand looked over.

Swiping up the kunai, she stood up and slowly stretched. Straightened, she frowned as her hand slipped into her pocket, "Oh right, almost forgot, here."

Tossing a book into his lap, she waved at the owner of the small stand, "Hideaki! Where's the check? I'm leaving!" Quickly, he raised his hand, signaling for his own check. As she waited, she leaned her elbow on the counter and tapped impatiently.  _Those were all the records Ibiki could find. He wants to know what this is all about._

Shikaku picked up his cup with one hand. As he sipped, he slipped his other hand under the counter and flicked his fingers outward with a twist of his wrist.  _Later_.

*

"Departmental financials have been pulled by Morino Ibiki."

It wasn't out of character for the commanding officer to request financial records, but the man didn't usually do so until the end of the fiscal quarter. Moreover, the man had already completed his request for additional funding for that year.

Danzo turned around and stared dispassionately at the kneeling figure, "For what purpose?"

"It's not clear."

Danzo frowned.  _Was this Hiruzen's work?_  He settled into his chair, "Continue watching the files."

With a nod the figure was quickly replaced with another, "Hitsuno Tori has been apprehended."

Without looking up as he gathered the reports on his desk, Danzo asked, "Has the interrogation started?"

"Yes."

"The report?"

"He confirmed our suspicions about Hisomeru Mizuki. The details are on your desk."

Danzo allowed satisfaction to curl his lips upward for the briefest of moments.  _So the snake child still wanted to play in my village?_

*

 **Age 10.**  At the nudge to his shoulder, Kazuki opened his eyes, "Are we still playing?"

Chouji nodded. At his troubled expression, Kazuki pushed himself to a sitting position on the tree branch, "What's wrong?" That's when he heard the sniff.

_Oh no._

Following Chouji's extended finger, he looked down. There, huddled against the base of the tree was Sakura, wiping away at her eyes.

He looked back at Chouji and shook his head rigidly. Uh-uh. He wasn't getting drawn into girl issues, especially when it involved  _crying_  girls. He was perfectly fine with being called a coward here.

Chouji looked at him with the same uncertain expression.

_No. He'd have to be a fool to get involved. It was simpler all around if he stayed out of it._

He heard another sniff, coupled by a shuddered breath.

.

He caved. With one last pout, he rolled off the branch and landed in front of Sakura. Overhead, he saw Chouji giving him an encouraging smile.

 _You'd be opening a chip bag right now if Ino hadn't confiscated your last one, wouldn't you?_ Withholding his sigh, he crouched down, "Why are you crying?"

Sakura gave a startled jerk backward, before realizing who was speaking. Hastily wiping her eyes on her shoulder, she mumbled, "I'm not crying."

Sometimes, it was difficult to reconcile the painfully self-conscious Sakura in front of him with the one that could browbeat her whole team, sensei included, into going to the hospital. He scrunched his mouth to one side. If he pointed out the obvious, would she hit him? Maybe he could just leave her there… he did try after all.

He looked up. When he met Chouji's eyes, his friend gave him a thumbs-up.

He searched for something to say. "Did you like the book?"

She peered at him from where her face was half hidden by her arms, which she had wrapped around both knees.

He looked away under the pretense of readjusting his ponytail and elaborated, "Ah… Ino said that she'd lent the book on nutrition I gave her to you…"

"Yea."

He frowned as a thought struck him, "Did Ino even read it?"

Sakura giggled. He looked at her in surprise.

She shook her head with an impish grin, "I did summarize it for her though."

He sighed. Considering the fact that Ino had still snagged Chouji's snacks, he supposed that she hadn't listened. He plopped himself cross-legged on the ground, propped his elbow on his knee, and rested his head on his hand. In a dull tone, he asked, "Was she listening?"

Sakura pursed her lips together in a clear attempt to avoid smiling, "No."

He let his head fall, causing her to finally laugh. At the sound of her amusement, he twisted to the side and lay down on his back, "Did the game finish?"

At his question, her smile disappeared into a pout, "No, Ino just volunteered me to be  _it_."

He flipped to his side and propped himself up on his elbow as he studied her downcast expression, "Did you say you didn't want to be  _it_?"

She buried her face back into her arms and shook her head.

"She can't read your mind, you know?"

_Not yet at least._

When she didn't reply, he scratched his head awkwardly.  _Well, if I have to…_ "I can be  _it_  if you want."

Immediately, her head shot up, "NO."

He blinked at the dismay in her expression.

Hastily, she flashed a placating smile, "I mean… it's just, you'll fall asleep again."

He didn't sleep  _all_ the time. Above him, Chouji snickered, causing Sakura to squeak in surprise. She frowned, "Have you two been hiding up there this whole time?"

Chouji looked away, while Kazuki replied unashamedly, "Yep."

As Chouji clambered his way down, they could hear their friends drawing closer.

"Ino…," he began hesitantly, hoping that this wouldn't come back to haunt him, "She can be dense about certain things."

For some reason this made her giggle, "She said that about you."

… _she would._

Just then, Sasuke burst into the field before them, closely followed by Kiba and Akamaru.

He flopped back onto his back and stared at the treetops above him. Remembering just exactly how discomfortingly forthright she could be, he couldn't believe what he was about to encourage, "Just… say what you want. You can speak your mind and still be friends…" Hearing familiar rising voices to his left, he waved a hand in that general direction, "Like those two."

"I can  _so_  do a henge."  _Stubborn and indignant, that voice was Naruto's._

"But you can't do a Bunshin."  _Flat and dryly provoking, that could only be Sasuke._

"Shut up Sasuke!" He could see where this was going.

"You can't do a Bunshin?"  _That had to be Kiba._

"Make me."

He frowned. Perhaps that wasn't the best example. He sat up in time to see Sakura shooting him a look of disbelief from the corner of his eye just as Naruto tackled Sasuke.

"I think… it's different for girls."

He turned to look at Sakura. Despite her words, she didn't look convinced.

He looked back at the group in front of them. Naruto had dug himself out of Sasuke's chokehold and was busy screaming at the back of Sasuke's head, while Ino raged at Kiba's back.

He rubbed his nose, "I don't know, Ino seems pretty similar to Naruto."

At Chouji's quizzical hum, he looked over to see his friend holding a paper slip. His left pocket was hanging out from his jacket. "Oh, I forgot to give you this."

As he accepted the paper slip, Chouji elaborated, "Mom said it's from Yoshino-san."

Holding his breath, he opened the slip before slowly breathing out.

**He'll meet you at Sarugaku Coffee by the snakes with the sun.**

He resisted the urge to sag. It looked like he could no longer put off the talk with Shikaku.

Still, did it have to be that early?

*

"Honey, we're going to be late!"

Mizuki hurriedly stood, "I'll be right there Tsubaki, no need to shout!" He felt numb as he hurriedly sealed the correspondence into a storage scroll. He'd have to remember to destroy the document away from their place.

After everything… It hadn't even been two years.

He took another deep breath as he braced himself with both hands against his desk.

He'd become too complaisant. He could almost taste the bitterness at the back of his throat as rage finally ate away at the numbness. He'd been a fool to think that the arrangement was that simple – that anything could be that  _easy_  for him.

 _Not like Iruka_.

Clenching his hand, he exhaled explosively as he shoved himself away from the desk.

_It didn't matter._

So what if Orochimaru was concerned about the defensive ability of  _Academy_  graduates. It didn't matter. He could do this. It was just a small setback. So what if he'd have to sabotage his own work?

He could still teach. If he was careful, people would just accuse them of being too soft on the children. If he played his cards right, he could still maneuver himself into the right position to be promoted to Tokubetsu Jounin. Once he had enough experience on paper, he'd be free from this threat.

And once he was free, he'd come back and silence Tori.

*

_Why was it so quiet?_

The last time it had been this quiet, he'd opened a desk full of noisemakers. Suspicious, Kazuki opened the door gingerly. When nothing happened, he poked his head out from the bathroom and looked down the hall.

Just when he was starting to get concerned, Naruto's scratchy voice rang out, "DAMMIT SASUKE, I  _SAID_  I GOT THIS!"

"…if you shout any louder, your neighbors are gonna call."

"M' neighborserr deaf."

"What?"

"You're a turd."

 _Must have just caught them when they were exhausted_. Assured of his safety, Kazuki toweled his hair dry as he stepped into the hallway, "Sasuke, shower's free!"

"Un."

Just when he reached out, the curtains separating the living room from the rest of the apartment were swept aside, and he found himself facing his twin.

He widened his eyes at just how visibly exasperated Sasuke looked.

"Teach. Him."

"Huh?"

Sasuke puffed out his cheeks for a moment before explaining, "I bet Kiba that I could teach Naruto the Bunshin before he could."

"Isn't this sleepover kind of unfair then?"

Sasuke's grin was almost manic. Kazuki wondered just exactly what Kiba had done to piss Sasuke off.

"I'll split the winnings with you."

Teaching Naruto would be a huge pain, especially if he had to get up early the next morning.

Seeing his less than enthusiastic expression, Sasuke added, "It's a month's allowance."

On the other hand, learning the basics was pretty important, and with Ino confiscating Chouji's snacks…

He shrugged, "Sure."

Sasuke's eyes gleamed in triumph, "Thanks."

"Yea, yea," Kazuki sidestepped Sasuke and entered the living room, only to stare at the misshapen white blob on the ground in front of him.

With a poof, the blob dispersed. It looked as if Naruto's bunshin skills had only gotten worse since that afternoon. On one hand, he wasn't really surprised; neither of them were exactly patient. On the other hand, Naruto's bunshins had already been pretty bad to begin with – for them to get worse was … impressive.

"Dammit." Naruto slumped down to the floor with a thud and pouted.

Letting the towel fall to his shoulders, Kazuki made his way over to one of the couches that had been pushed against the wall. Perching himself on the back of couch, he rested his feet on the cushion and asked, "Do you know where it's going wrong?"

Naruto simply flopped back, arms outstretched, and wailed, "NOoooo. Even  _that_  bastard says I'm doing the signs right now…"

Kazuki frowned, "You weren't before?"

Naruto huffed, and looked away. In a subdued tone, he muttered, "No."

Come to think of it, when had Naruto learned the Kage Bunshin? It wouldn't have surprised him if Kakashi had taught Naruto the jutsu. The man was enough of a harebrained genius to teach an impulsive genin like Naruto a high ranking technique. On the other hand, Naruto had never seemed to master the Bunshin, which  _was_  an Academy graduation requirement.

"Mind if I see it?"

He saw a familiar stubborn expression settle on Naruto's face. The blond arched backward, and using his hands, pushed off to flip himself onto his feet, "OK!"

Ram. Snake. Tiger.

He coughed as the room filled with smoke. When the smoke finally cleared, there was a white humanoid blob lying at Naruto's feet.

"NOOoooooo." Naruto crouched down to glare at his clone. As the blond started to chatter – was he attempting to coax the clone?- Kazuki studied the misshapen form. At least this time he could vaguely make out Naruto's features on the blob.

Idly, he started to comb out the tangles in his hair. As far as he could tell, Naruto had executed the seals perfectly. If anything, his form had improved. Theoretically, if his handseals were more accurate, more of his chakra should have been directed to his clones.

He stared absently at the smoke as he thought.

"So do you have any advice?"

He blinked as Naruto suddenly appeared in his face.

"Ahh… give me a moment to think? Why don't you grab some ramen?" Naruto, who initially began to droop at the lack of advice, perked up at the mention of ramen.

"Mm, good idea! I'm starving."

As Naruto trudged off to the kitchen, he heard the pipes in the apartment begin to protest. Sasuke must have started showering.

If more chakra had been shoved into the clones, why did they look worse than before? He grinned as he realized why his brother had looked so frustrated. After spending hours correcting Naruto, getting clones that looked worse than before they had started must have pissed him off.

He yanked at a particularly stubborn knot in his hair. Well, if more chakra made the clones worse, then what would happen if there was less chakra?

"Hey Naruto?"

The blond's popped his head from the doorway, "Yea?"

"Are you still heating the water?"

"Yup, you got something?"

He sat up, "Maybe."

Immediately, Naruto bounded out.

"Try it without pressing your hands as closely together."

"Eh, but Sasuke said –"

He lazily flopped his wrist, "I'm just curious."

Naruto pulled a face, "Eh… o..k…"

This time, the clone appeared standing – before falling right over. Before Naruto could react, Kazuki frowned and leaned forward, "Ok, can you do the same thing? Except relax your wrists?"

Naruto looked up from where he was circling his clone on all fours, "Huh?"

Yawning into his shoulder, Kazuki demonstrated the motion he sought, "Liiiiaaaah, kee yaw haa nah at right angles."

Despite his mangled words, Naruto seemed to understand, "Eh? Ok." With a shrug, the next clone appeared. This time there was some color, but the left half of the clone's face drooped downwards.

For the next half hour, he had Naruto try a variety of modifications until finally a passable Bunshin appeared. "YESSSS!" Panting, Naruto slumped to the floor just as the sound of a whistling kettle filled the apartment.

Immediately, he leapt up and rushed to the kitchen, as if he hadn't been just exhausted moments ago.

"Did he get it?"

Kazuki turned his head to see Sasuke padding into the room. Slumping against the wall, he let himself slide down to the cushions of the sofa, "Maybe?"

"Is that Sasuke?" Naruto sped walk out, carefully balancing the rim of his ramen bowl in between his hands. Gingerly setting down his prized snack to the side, he quickly scampered into the middle of the room, "Hey, hey! Watch this!"

The modified hand seals, which would probably make any self-respecting teacher cry (luckily Kazuki didn't consider himself one), were mangled almost beyond recognition. Ram. Snake. Tiger.

Just like before, a passable clone appeared for about a split second before bleaching white and slumping to the ground in a dead faint.

Sasuke stared wordlessly at Naruto who immediately flushed, "No, wait, just hold on a sec." Ram. Snake. Tiger.

This time, the clone wasn't even standing before it was bleached white.

"DAMMIT!"

The clone appeared like a statue of a sleeping Naruto. In the midst of the dispersing smoke, Kazuki tilted his head forward, letting his hair fall in front of his face.

As Naruto shouted out the name of the jutsu to forestall any comment that Sasuke could make, Kazuki activated his sharingan and watched the orange, bordering on golden, chakra light up through the curtain of his hair.

"HAH! TAKE THAT!"

"I didn't say anything."

He blinked, deactivating his sharingan. The shuddering flow of chakra that he had seen reminded him of the way that water would tremble right before spilling over the brim and the way that hair would cling to skin during dry winters. The chakra seemed just as warm and wild as its user.

If his suspicion was right, then to Naruto, this jutsu was like running with a full cup of water, trying not to let anything spill.

He stared absentmindedly at the two tumbling on the ground. As they crashed into the couch, he reflexively leapt back into his original position. Perched on the back of the couch, he recalled just how much Naruto had favored, if not relied on, the use of shadow clones. Those clones had been invaluable during the war.

He tucked his hair back behind his ears as the two rolled over to the other side of the room and crashed into the wall. He had no doubt that Naruto had the energy, the chakra, for the jutsu – even at his current age. However, he was less sure what would happen if he went ahead and taught Naruto the jutsu.

He glanced at the clock and groaned. He also had  _that_  meeting at six the next day. Looking at the two still grappling on the floor, he shrugged. Grabbing the folded blanket at the other end of the couch, he tossed the covers over his head and lay down to sleep.

*

With the heels of both hands pressed against his temples, Kazuki stared at his reflection in the ceramic teapot through his newly cut bangs. He wasn't sure what had compelled him to cut his hair that morning. He'd been considering the idea for a while; bangs would definitely obscure the sight of his sharingan – at least until he mastered holding a henge with an activated sharingan.

 _How had Ino done it?_  He fingered the clump of hair that, when tugged, fell right below his cheekbone. With the rest of his hair drawn up in his usual ponytail, the new bangs looked as if he'd decided to tape a raccoon's tail to his forehead. He figured he could have done worse.

At least it would irritate Noa.

Losing the fight against gravity, he slumped forward and let his head side down his arm. Of course, right when he had started to drowse, he heard, "Here's your reserved table."

Hurriedly, he sat up in time to see a waiter direct Chouza to his table. Before he could rise, Chouza waved him back down, "Two okayu with nori please, and another pot."

Nodding, the waiter left. Sliding into the seat, Chouza smiled in greeting, "Good morning."

Cautiously, Kazuki nodded back, "Good morning."

There was a brief silence that was interrupted by a knock. Without glancing at the door, Chouza answered, "Come in." As the waiter came in and slid the breakfast trays across the table, the man's eyes never left Kazuki.

Perhaps it was just his imagination, but the waiter seemed to sense the tension in the room and left quickly. As the door closed, Chouza brought his hands up together, "Itadakimasu."

Hurriedly, Kazuki echoed him and watched as Chouza leisurely picked up the wet towel. As he wiped his hands, his appearance rippled, and suddenly it was Shikaku sitting across the table.

As the man set the towel back down, it occurred to Kazuki that he probably should have feigned surprise. After wiping his own hands, he picked up the pot and gestured at Shikaku's cup. When the man silently held up his cup with both hands, he stood up awkwardly to pour the tea.

It was clear that the man was waiting for him to speak.

"Why did you suggest this place?"

He sat down and picked up his cup for Shikaku to fill. Shikaku quirked an eyebrow, "I thought you’d want privacy." Picking up the small bowl of miso soup, he slurped before answering, "This restaurant doubles as training grounds for our three clans. We're in one of the privacy rooms for members to reflect with their teachers. Anyone attempting to eavesdrop on one of these rooms would have to avoid the detection from not only the occupants of these rooms, but the guests and staff of the restaurant."

Setting down the bowl, he picked up his chopsticks and asked, "But you already knew that."

 _This was it._  Picking up his own set of chopsticks, Kazuki admitted, "I suspected."

Selecting a few pieces of nori, Shikaku asked, "Did you use a henge or is that haircut a disguise?"

He resisted the urge to flush, "Henge." Hastily, he changed the subject, "You once said that I should find you when I was ready to talk."

Shikaku paused and lowered his spoonful of rice porridge, "That was almost two years ago. Why now?"

"Back then, you were a stranger. Not to mention, you've been out of the village a lot." Kazuki looked into his own bowl, "I needed time."  _I didn't know what to say._

Returning to his food, Shikaku commented, "I'm still a stranger – or was that why you befriended my wife?"

His voice seemed deceptively light for what he was implying. Kazuki wasn't sure whether or not he blinked in confusion or dismay. Setting down his chopsticks, he met Shikaku's eyes. As much as he feared that he was misreading Shikaku, he had almost forgotten how he himself might be misread.

Hoping that his body language reinforced his sincerity, he carefully answered, "Your wife… Yoshino-san has been the only one to speak frankly to us."

"And those prosthetics were just a thank-you gift?" Kazuki could almost hear the unsaid observation.  _Seems like an awfully unbalanced exchange._

After all, although gifts could be proffered in thanks, expensive gifts could easily create a sense of obligation on the part of the receiver.

He readily replied, "Nobody has given us as wise or blunt counsel as Yoshino-san." Although Shikaku's expression did not change, he could feel that the tension in the room had lessened. Not entirely averse to pulling out the pity card, he broke Shikaku's gaze and picked up his chopsticks, "Moreover, I needed the distraction of working on the prosthetics."

Clearing his bowl, Shikaku nodded once, "Your prosthetics bear a strong resemblance to the Suna puppets."

Kazuki couldn't read the man's expression. He licked his lips, "Yes. How much time do we have?"

Unfazed by his apparent non sequitur, the man answered, "You requested an hour."

Kazuki nodded once. Taking a shallow breath, he folded his hands in clear view on the table and began, "You asked me once, if I could see the future."

Shikaku paused, in the middle of finishing the last of his nori, and set down his chopsticks.

Under the man's sharp gaze, Kazuki swallowed once before continuing, "I might have." Forcing himself to stop staring at his own hands, –  _Shikaku had to believe him –_ he met Shikaku's eyes, "When I was younger, I dreamed a lot."

There was no judgment on Shikaku's face. He couldn't tell what the man was thinking. He broke Shikaku's gaze and stared at the surface of the tea.

"The dreams are less frequent now, but they were always of one… life,  _one_  future." Hearing the chair creak, he risked a look up. The man's face was still expressionless, but the fact that he hadn't been rejected was a sign that his words were being taken seriously.

At least, he hoped it was, "My designs for the prosthetics were based off of what I had…seen."

Kazuki resisted the urge to shrink away as Shikaku uncrossed his arms and reached across the table. He blinked as the man only ended up grabbing the handle of the teapot. Quickly, he picked up his own cup in response. Silently, he watched the steady stream of still-steaming liquid pour into his cup.

Clink. The sound of the teapot greeting the table seemed to echo in the room.

He chanced a look at Shikaku's face and wondered what observations his words were being matched against.

"Why are you telling me this?"

And that was the question that he dreaded and expected. This time, he picked up the handle to stall. But as he poured into Shikaku's cup, the man continued, "From those scrolls and your words, it sounds like you are also aware of Kakashi and Jiraiya's talents. So why did you choose me?"  _Was it because of Yoshino?_

Setting down the teacup, he reached into his jacket and withdrew a small notebook. Thumbing the spine, he wetted his lips again. Finding himself unable to answer while staring into those eyes, he lowered his gaze to the man's collarbones, "In my dreams, we were…"  _close._

"…You were my …mentor." He purposefully let his eyes unfocus as he recalled those memories, "During the war, you were the chief strategist. As a division commander proxy, I ended up working with you a lot."

Refocusing, he hovered his fist just over the black tabletop. With the overhead lights, his hand casted a solid shadow as he continued, "I learned a lot from you."

He looked up to see Shikaku's expression as he unfurled his hand. Beneath his hand, the shadow sprouted fingers. But whereas he held his hand steady, the shadows of his fingers grew and continued to extend to reach the end of the table.

He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Shikaku's eyes widen. He watched the line between Shikaku's brows deepen. Releasing the jutsu, he cupped both hands around his teacup in full view and waited.

He felt Shikaku's shadow touch and merge with his beneath the table. Reflexively he pushed his own chakra into his shadow, where it pooled, waiting.

"I  _taught_  you the kagemane?"

Was Shikaku questioning whether or not he'd simply copied the jutsu?

He had to know that the Nara techniques weren't exactly easy to copy. Careful not to show how tense he was, he simply nodded, "And some others."

He carefully let out his breath as he felt Shikaku's chakra withdraw.

"We must have been close."  _How close are you saying we were?_

He lowered his head. He had to deflect. Letting those bangs fall over his eyes briefly, he answered, "We were desperate."

Shikaku hummed, "When we have more time, I'd like to see what exactly you've learned."

He nodded again, keeping his head bowed for perhaps a half a minute before he realized that the man in front of him wasn't probing any further – which was unexpected.

Hesitantly, he brushed back his hair absently and continued with his explanation, "I waited because I didn't know if you were different from my dreams. Chouji and Naruto only know that I can do the kagemane and a little about my dreams through an accident, and they've sworn not to tell anyone else. You're the third person I've told."  _I never told Itachi._

Shikaku crossed his arms and leaned back in a deceptively relaxed pose, "You never told your parents?"

He withdrew his hands from his cup. Before he could mirror Shikaku's pose, he forced his hands to grip the edges of the table, "You want to know if I saw the massacre coming, and if I did, why I didn't try to warn anyone."

He didn't wait for Shikaku to answer before plunging forward, "I first suspected my dreams were true when I was three. But if my dreams were true, then that would mean that I would be accusing my own brother of murder –fratricide, patricide, matricide…"

Shikaku unfolded his arms to push both breakfast trays to the ends of the table, "So you survived the massacre in your dreams."

Kazuki felt his lips thin, "Yes." When he saw that Shikaku had noticeably glanced at his hands, he realized that his knuckles were white. Clasping both hands together, he continued, "My brother was the hero of the clan. Even if I were to just warn the clan of an unspecified danger, my father was the head of the police force. He would have found out eventually."

He looked up, blinking rapidly and cursing himself for the sudden heat in his eyes. Swallowing hard, he continued, "It also- Itachi, I didn't believe that he could have done such a thing."

"Kazuki."

He met Shikaku's eyes, "I still don't."

The man stilled.

It was as he suspected then. He  _had_  changed some things.

"You suspect so as well."

The man sighed, and it was like the statue that he'd been talking to for the past half hour dissolved, "You mentioned war."

Allowing the change in conversation, Kazuki nodded, "Yes, it was a war with all five Great Nations."

For the first time in the conversation, Shikaku looked visibly dismayed, "All five nations?"

Realizing the confusion, Kazuki shook his head, "No, we were allied."

If anything, this made Shikaku more alarmed, "Against what?" But before Kazuki could reply, Shikaku answered himself, "The Juubi. Shattered vessels unite five nations to break the God-Tree." Still visibly digesting news of such an enormous threat, Shikaku narrowed his eyes, "You saw the jinchuriki fight against their home countries?"

Kazuki shook his head quickly, "No, they were taken. Most were killed –"

"-once their demons were extracted."

Kazuki nodded. It was still amazing how fast his father could connect everything.

"So what is your plan? What were you looking for when you asked for this meeting?"

There was a time to duck and hedge, and there was a time to just jump straight off the cliff. He cleared his throat, "Advice. I think Danzo was behind the massacre."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR.  
> Conception Notes:  
> Kabuto's Sensei: Yakushi Kabuto's teammates are Akado Yoroi and Tsurugi Misumi. Together, the bolded part of their names mean "helmet", "armor", and "sword". Consequently, since Kabuto's sensei didn't have a voice actor, I decided to find something that'd match the theme. So I was stuck between Mempo (the face mask/armor), Maedate (the helmet's main ornament), or Jirushi (a flag like badge worn on the helmet or shoulder as a form of identification). I ended up choosing Maedate for how it sounds, its literal meaning (front decoration), and how it sometimes could be used to bear the coat of arms of a samurai clan. This is all from the internet, so I could be completely wrong about this cultural info. Anyway, that's where the name came from.


	13. Shifting Winds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks to Bonnie for betaing.

Fire crackled in the open brazier.

Danzo stared absently at the reports before him. Slowly, he curled his right hand into a fist. Inhaling deeply, he closed his eyes as he fought off the all too familiar dizziness that accompanied the exhaustion of staying up over thirty hours. Still, it was more than he could do a year ago.

He supposed it was a testament to Orochimaru's skill that his body had accepted the Shodaime's cells in under a month. He'd need the endurance if he had any hope of protecting the village from soft-hearted opinionated fools that seemed to be cropping up with increasing frequency thanks to the deceptive peace that'd settled among the great nations.

 _If only they knew_.

There was no such thing as peace. Not as  _they_  defined it.

Konoha's central location meant access to both an abundance and diversity of resources. Its coveted location also meant that it was effectively surrounded by the other four great nations. The peace that everyone treasured only existed because Konoha had managed to outlast all of the other countries – which wouldn't be possible if Hiruzen insisted on keeping the graduation limit in place.

He exhaled and opened his eyes. Returning his attention to the report on his desk, he lifted his left hand to turn the page only to pause, "Any word from Kaoru or Ito?"

Against the wall, one of his men stood forward to answer, "No, sir."

He frowned. Iwa's betrayal of Kiri at Yosuga's Pass had been a fortuitous event. Reconciliation between the two countries didn't appear anywhere close to the horizon. Moreover, it also wouldn't take much to stoke the mutual enmity of both countries towards Kumo.

That's what he had thought at least. Sending a few unmarked shinobi who were adept at using Lightning-style techniques to sabotage missions taken by Iwa and Kiri should have been a simple matter.

*

He'd known it wouldn't be simple.

The moment Yoshino had related the kid's request for a  _private_  meeting, he'd known it'd be complicated.

 _But you still went_.

He resisted the urge to twist his mouth. Instead, he fixed Kazuki with a long stare. He knew he should feel bad about playing mind games with an Academy student, but he was fairly certain that this particular student could handle them.

The kid would have to, if he truly intended to go against Danzo.

"Danzo- _sama_ ," he finally said flatly.

Kazuki nodded. Slowly, raising both arms above the table in full view, he reached into his sleeve and retrieved a standard storage scroll, which he held up for Shikaku's visual inspection, "May I?"

Shikaku nodded. Resting the scroll lengthwise on the table, Kazuki paused, as if to give him a chance to change his mind. When he said nothing, the boy rolled out the scroll, unsealing a stack of documents that immediately made Shikaku grimace inside at the thought of more paperwork.

As Kazuki shot him another cautious look, Shikaku resisted the urge to slouch. The thing was, the child had already earned his trust – not through a calculated move (as this meeting had clearly been), but through the kid's instinctive flooding of the shadows with his own chakra. He'd only observed that habit ingrained in those who frequently trained with other shadow-users, who were accustomed to seizing shadows, like claiming territory on an igo board.

It wasn't a habit that would have been copied.

If that was the case, if he had been a mentor, then the child had most likely downplayed the extent of his ties with either Yoshino or himself. That sort of habit would have taken time to develop.

Of course, all of his suppositions depended on whether or not he wanted to trust in the concept of a vision, which he supposed wasn't that far off from fortune telling and prophecies. He knew and respected several high officials who went to the temple every year for consultations. Everyone played it off as tradition, but there was no denying the fearful respect for such superstitions. He had always just gone through the motions to appease the people around him, since he had always considered the words of fortune tellers and soothsayers much too vague to be of any serious use.

Realigning the edges of the papers by tapping lightly at the sides of the stack, Kazuki spoke, "I used a basic Natsuya cipher, with The Herbal Encyclopedia as a key."

Somehow, Shikaku wasn't surprised that the brat had used an encyclopedia for a key. Maybe it was the slight bags under the kid's eyes.

"I've recorded a lot of the events that I learned of secondhand and starred the ones where I was a direct participant."

Shikaku took a slow breath and unintentionally redirected his gaze to the stack of papers as suspicion grew.  _Did he document his vision?_

"I don't know how much has changed, or if knowing any of it is useful, but I've outlined what I think is most relevant."

 _He did_. The stack was about two centimeter's thick. The writing was cramped, but neat. As he stared at the documents, Shikaku resisted the urge to head to the nearest liquor store. Heaving a sigh, (because who was he kidding? There really was no more point to wearing a poker face), he reset his gaze on the child.

Kazuki withdrew both of his hands into his lap, "The one thing I do know is that this village is full of dedicated shinobi who will always protect Konoha against these events." Licking his lips, he took a deep breath, "But, the only one who Itachi has is me. If I'm right about Danzo, then that means that I need someone who is up to date with the latest developments in our government if I have any hope of bringing him home."

And there it was.

He heaved another sigh and reached out to grab the stack. Once he reoriented the stack to face him, he pinched the documents together with one hand and used the other to flip through the pages. The notes were neat, and though he didn't have the encyclopedia with him, he recalled enough of its entries to be able to translate a few phrases here and there in the documents.

After a moment, he asked with his eyes still on the page, "Ever consider that your brother volunteered for this?"

"Yes."

He looked up. The kid was staring straight back at him, head lowered just the slightest bit. Despite the hinted deference in the boy's bowed head, the answer had been firmly stated without hesitation.

He glanced back down to the page. From what he could tell, the notation and wording were precise and succinct – better than some jounin reports. He glanced back up at the child.

If Yoshino ever knew of the decision that he was about to make, he wouldn't ever have to worry about her finding the stash he'd hidden in the bookshelves. He'd already be dead.

Visions or no visions, the child was already more intelligent and mature than he'd expected. He looked back at the pages and flipped another page. Additionally, this could potentially help with his investigation for the Hokage. He set the stack of pages back down.

He'd just have to make sure that the kid would be protected from the potential backlash. He idly traced the scar on his temple as he reexamined the consequences of the decision he was considering before leaning forwards and catching Kazuki's eyes, "Why do you suspect Danzo- _sama_? Why would he want to kill one of the village's most prominent clans?"

The boy ducked his head briefly, acknowledging the repeated emphasis on Danzo's title, before replying, "Not if that clan was going to revolt."

Shikaku blinked. Time seemed to freeze as he felt facts and observations re-slotting themselves into place. He cleared his throat and used the motion of taking another sip from his cup to disguise his racing thoughts. Using the heat of the tea to push down the shock, he set the cup back down, "Do you have proof?"

The boy had clasped his own hands around his cup, "Of the revolt? No, just torn pages and blacked out lines and empty spaces on the shelves."

Leaning back, Shikaku rested his elbow on the armrest. With his fingers half-covering his mouth, he found himself thumbing the scarred tissue over his cheekbone. For a moment, he found himself wondering if the child in front of him realized the full implications of what he had just revealed.

Glancing at the clock's reflection on the lacquered ceramic teapot, he dismissed those thoughts. It was already almost seven. No, Kazuki knew fully well what he was saying. He found his estimation of the boy's analytical skills rising again.

The evidence of the revolt lay in the pattern of negative space, of what wasn't there that was supposed to be there, which, well, could only be identified by someone who knew what was supposed to be there.

It was a tricky admission that could easily be twisted; by that logic, how could you use the absence of something as proof if that very  _something_  was your proof? The only way you could use the absence was if you already knew what that  _something_  was.

For a clan as secluded and proudly insular as the Uchiha, that meant that there were only three candidates who could potentially testify that the absence of certain documents was indicative of traitorous intentions – Kazuki, Sasuke, and Itachi. Few would believe that two Academy students would have knowledge of what should and shouldn't be there, and no one would trust in the word of a missing-nin.

And all that assumed that the Uchiha would testify against their own clan. So really, the boy had handed him virtually nothing and everything at the same time. There was nothing he could use to prove that the Uchiha were going to revolt. However, that same information filled in some holes in his current investigations that he doubted the child knew about. The councilman's reach was much wider that even he had anticipated.

Plans for a revolt would also explain why the child hadn't sought anyone's help with his… vision.  _As well as why Danzo-sama would want the clan dead and why Itachi… would volunteer._

He met those black eyes again before quickly flicking his gaze down at the boy's hands. Responding to that directed glance, the boy looked down and stiffened as he noticed how white his knuckles had become.

Shikaku felt somewhat relieved. The break in the child's poise was …comforting. No matter what the child's story was, he didn't know if he would have been as ready to accept the kid if the boy had acted any more like a 'perfect' shinobi – like how his brother had been reportedly like.

He briefly wondered if Chouza had any inkling of the trouble he had been handing over with that scroll. A several more pieces fell into place, he stiffened. Placing his hand back down on the armrest, he reached for his cup again, "The festival was your work?"

The way Kazuki's head jerked up, Shikaku suspected that his question hadn't been expected. The boy looked away, onto the dark lacquered flooring, "Yeah. I thought I could stall, remove the reason for a revolt."

Before he could respond to those words, to that  _expression_ , Kazuki looked back, "It almost worked. The massacre was originally in the spring." The boy's only sign of discomfort was how he thinned his lips, as if he was reminding himself not to wet them again, "The thing is, Itachi wasn't supposed to be in the village that day."

Kazuki reached into his sleeve and drew out a small wooden panel. He set it down on the table with a small clack and slid it across the table. Catching it, Shikaku leaned forward with both arms on the table to examine it.

It was a mission pass, routinely given as a marker to outgoing shinobi for long term or high risk assignments. The markers were often stamped with the ninja's name and the dates of issuance and expected return. Shikaku traced the red seal that made the marker official with his thumb. The bottom edge was charred.

They were usually used as a form of courtesy, left with the departing shinobi's belongings as a way to alert other shinobi, and sometimes landlords, to their unavailability due to a mission.

Itachi's name was painted on in large black strokes, and the date was the same day as the massacre.

Placing the marker face down, Shikaku slid the card back over. When the Hokage had asked for him to look into the Councilman's activities, he'd been told that it was for the purposes of evaluating Danzo's successor. He'd suspected that it was more than that for some time now, and now it was confirmed.

ANBU acted strictly under the Hokage's word, which meant that Itachi most likely had been assigned a mission by the Hokage on the day of the massacre. Although it was possible, he doubted most psychopaths would take the time to request a mission pass right before killing their clan.

Considering the sensitive nature of these missions, there were often no records made for the passes – especially since there had never been a need to falsify one. So it was understandable that such a pass might have been overlooked by Danzo. However, it was strange that Itachi would have missed it, "Where did you find it?"

Kazuki traced the rim of his cup with one finger, "It was buried in the training grounds."

"You knew it was there?"

The boy shook his head, "No, it was buried shallowly. I was training."

Shikaku nodded. A shallow burial would indicate that Itachi had wanted the marker found. Considering how large the compound lands were, he suspected that it wasn't exactly a coincidence that Kazuki had found it. However, considering the timing, he wondered if Itachi had intended the marker to be found so soon. As far as he could tell, there was only one reason that Itachi had voluntarily defamed himself and left the village in disgrace. Leaving the marker to be found by a child would directly contradict that hypothesis.

Studying the thin frame of the child before him, he wondered if Kazuki was aware of what Itachi's intentions had been.

The boy removed his hands from his cup and placed them back in his lap as he leaned forward, apparently mistaking Shikaku's silence for doubt, "Putting the marker aside, why were we the only ones to survive?"

Playing devil's advocate, Shikaku replied easily, "He ran out of time."

Shikaku felt a certain  _darkness_  enter the shadows beneath the table before it was suddenly withdrawn, much like the sudden recoil of a snake. He resisted the urge to inhale sharply. Yes, this child had undoubtedly been trained by a Nara, a highly skilled one.

"He reportedly killed our clan in less than half an hour. There's no reason he couldn't kill two Academy students in under a minute."

Shikaku raised a brow, deliberately antagonistic in his most unimpressed manner, "He's a reported psychopath. Inoichi saw how he played with the both of you."

At the mention of the Yamanaka, the boy sharpened his gaze, "Then you saw how close he was to killing me."

Shikaku crossed his arms, "You took him by surprise. It's been a while since I've heard of someone using summoning scrolls in a battle."  _Let alone, an Academy student knowing how to use summoning scrolls._

He saw Kazuki clench his jaw.  _This is the kind of purposeful ignorance you will be encountering._ Relenting, he uncrossed his arms to pick up his cup, "I see your point. If it helps, there are a few others who are suspicious of the official version of the report."

Sipping the tea, he grimaced as he realized that the liquid had completely cooled. Setting the cup back down, he continued, "But that marker you have there is perhaps the best evidence of foul play that you have."  _Which isn't much_.

The boy nodded and looked down, clearly trying to prepare his next words.

However, tired of the crazy turns that the conversation had been taking –  _and the leads that he'd have to follow up on –_ Shikaku continued speaking, "At some point, I'd like to hear why you suspect Danzo-sama specifically, but right now, I'd like you to clarify exactly what it is you're looking for from me. You mentioned advice."

Giving the stack of papers in front of him a pointed glance, he raised his brows, "From this conversation, I gather you hope to have more of these conversations." In a deceptively inattentive manner, he idly flipped another page over, "So… state your terms."

To his surprise, the boy visibly relaxed and stared straight back at him, "Help me bring back my brother."

…  _at least he was direct_.

Kazuki continued, "Those events that I gave you, those are only the events that I am aware of."

Here, the boy paused, opening and closing his mouth, evidently uncertain how to proceed. At the sudden silence, Shikaku paused flipping the pages, "And there are some events that you want to change, but don't know if there's something that you're not aware of that might be of greater importance."

He looked up in time to catch the boy's nod. Returning his attention back to the documents, he queried, "Aren't you going to ask me to keep this a secret?"

"No."

 _That was…_ He stiffened as he realized what he had just translated in his head moments ago and flipped back to the earlier page. Realizing that he was still in the middle of the conversation, he queried, "So you don't mind if I tell other people?"

"I trust your judgment."

At that, he snapped his head up even as his mind plowed through the implications of what he had just read, "Are you sure?"

The boy looked away, "Don't I have to be?"

Shikaku frowned. He needed to talk to the Hokage. It was clear that Councilman Danzo was involved in many things, of which Hiruzen was unaware. However, from what he had just read, it seemed like they would need to broaden the scope of his investigation.

–And confirm exactly what it is the Hokage wanted to accomplish through him.

On that note, "I'll speak with you before I disclose this information to anyone."

"Thanks."

He placed the documents back on top of the scroll and resealed them. Placing his cup to the side, he tucked the scroll away in his shirt, "One last thing, who was extracting the jinchuriki?"  _Who were we fighting against?_

Seeing his preparations to leave, Kazuki placed his cup on the breakfast tray to the side, "On the surface, the Akatsuki."

Shikaku raised an eyebrow, "On the surface?"

By the way Kazuki sighed and grimaced, he could tell that he wasn't going to like the answer. With a tilt of his head, the boy gestured at his vest, where the storage scroll now resided, "I wrote the details in there."

He really wasn't going to like it.

Heaving a sigh, he stood up only to see the boy suddenly frown "What is it?"

"It's been more than an hour."

  1.  Shikaku leisurely rolled his head back, stretching his neck, "So it is."



"I thought you only had an hour."

Shikaku shrugged agreeably, "You asked for an hour."

Kazuki blinked, before grimacing. Shikaku leaned over and patted the boy once on the head, lightly tousling the boy's hair, "Take care of yourself, kid. I'll get the check. You'll hear from me soon."

Turning around, he missed the boy's suddenly frozen complexion. Reapplying the henge, he paused to look back, only to find himself looking at a brunette child. Having confirmed that it was safe to open the door, he gave the boy one last wave and ducked out.

No wonder the kid's caretaker had such trouble keeping track of her charges. He wondered what the Hokage's intentions had been, assigning an Academy graduate that never qualified for a jounin-sensei to the Uchihas.

*

Noa draped herself over the counter that she had just wiped down. Pressing her cheek against the cold marble, she wondered at how she had come to be in this state – alone, in an empty house at twenty-eight.

She heaved a sigh, and watched as her breath briefly fogged the glossy black surface of the countertop. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that a large part of the blame for her current situation fell upon herself.

It was just… she had wanted so badly to do her job right.

She never should have paid attention to the gossip, or the well-meaning advice she'd been given.

_They're the Uchihas – they have to be respected!_

_How will you raise them? You're not an Uchiha._

_What if they turn out like their brother? A murdering psychopath? I mean, what kind of a family breeds that kind of a monster? There were dead babies? Blood in the cribs!_

_Blood bleeds true – be careful Noa-chan. I know you mean well._

_I know you'll do a good job Noa-san._

She rolled her head onto her chin. She'd give it one more year – one more year and then she'd quit. She'd been almost twelve when she had emancipated herself, and the boys had already shown how they could take care of themselves. No one could blame her then. With another sigh, she let her head roll onto her other cheek and stared at the closed door that led to the foyer.

Stupid brats.

Too lazy to sit up, she flopped her one arm onto the countertop. Without looking, she pawed here and there, searching for the snacks Tsubaki had given her just that weekend. Considering how she'd stayed up for most of the night, waiting for her two idiots to come back, she figured she deserved indulging her sudden craving for dried plums.

*

 _This was the scent of …plums?_  At the reminder of his mother's perfume, he narrowed his eyes. Pausing on the stone steps leading up to the temple, where he'd agreed to meet the Akatsuki's latest informant, Itachi let a tendril of chakra drip down to his fingertips. He quickly signed with his left hand, before flicking the fingers on his right hands outwards, as if he was drying his hands.

Immediately a soft whirlwind kicked up around him, lifting the powdery snow to create a fine mist. Swiftly, he created a kage bunshin before transforming himself into a crow, taking off before his feet could sink into the snow.

Flying naturally and imitating the flight patterns of crows had taken a while to master. Given the lack of updrafts in the cold weather, he found himself glad that he had taken that time as he coasted on a dying breeze from his whirlwind up to a nearby tree, where he was studied and dismissed in the same glance by the other crows littering the treetops. Tucking in his tail feathers, he swiftly landed on a branch that still had a few dead leaves hanging precariously. He heard the soft crunch of snow just as he had turned himself around on the branch.

As his clone picked up and redonned the straw hat, he activated his sharingan in time to catch a set of robes, identical to the one he had been wearing, appear over the white hill. It was as he'd suspected. There was only one man who would join him at this time and place.

 _Orochimaru_.

He watched as his clone turned to greet his Akatsuki compatriot, who raised a hand in greeting, "Are you also headed to the temple?"

His clone dipped his head once. When Orochimaru smiled and made the gesture for him to go ahead, the clone nodded indifferently and turned back around towards the steps.

It was strange how Orochimaru didn't even attempt to hide his lust for the sharingan. From what he had always heard of the man, he had thought that the sannin would have attempted to disguise his interest, at least for their first meeting. He watched as the hand that Orochimaru had raised melted into a large snake, which was hissing even before it struck and wrapped around his clone.

 _Careless_. Giving away his attack before it had been completed seemed unusually rash. Studying the man's chakra flow as the man openly admired his binding Kanashibari genjutsu, he wondered if the man was rushing because of health reasons. There was something not quite right about the man's flow of chakra, especially near the head.

His thoughts were cut off as he detected another incoming presence. Soon, he saw a silver-haired figure dart in, kicking up a sheet of white powder as he skid to a stop to block the downwards strike of his clone. There was a jarring sound of clashing metal as the two kunai met.

The noise sent the neighboring crowd of crows cawing shrilly as they flew off, covering the noise of the ensuing taijutsu battle as well as providing him with the opportunity to layer another set of genjutsu on the field. Studying how Orochimaru was already fighting off the effects of his first genjutsu, he decided to make a leap backwards only to find the motion suddenly difficult, as if he was moving through quicksand. His alarm rose as he found himself unable to draw more chakra. Then, as if this realization was a trigger, what had felt like quicksand quickly moved into the territory of stone.

His unease was only tempered by the fact that neither his henge, nor his sharingan, had been disrupted. Fearing discovery and that, despite his caution, he'd underestimated his opponents, he directed his attention to the combatants below.

The silver-haired masked man had fallen into his genjutsu and was clearly preoccupied with fighting an imaginary opponent, while his clone was dodging Orochimaru's sluggish strikes. Then, almost as if it was timed, his clone closed in, wordlessly cutting off the sannin's left hand causing Orochimaru to yell out hoarsely just as his companion kneeled down and yelled, "Kai!"

He noted the rapid reaction time of Orochimaru's ally, as the masked man quickly shook off the genjutsu and hurled several shuriken at his clone, causing the clone to take a step back even as the sannin was still staggering away with a hand clamped over the bleeding stump.

The stranger rushed over, taking a protective stance, with one hand behind his back, outstretched towards Orochimaru, and the other in front of him, clutching a kunai, "How?"

His clone stared back impassively. Both his opponents seemed unaware of his actual presence above them. He struggled to blink, but found himself unable. He could only breathe in and out at a slow pace, almost as if someone else was breathing for him.

"How did it not affect you?"

 _It_  had to be some kind of drug. He hadn't encountered any genjutsu that could deceive his sharingan, and considering the confused and frustrated furrow between the brows of Orochimaru's man, he doubted  _it_  was any kind of ability linked to the mind.

What concerned him was that he had received a barrage of immunizations over the course of his career as an ANBU captain. Moreover, he was familiar with the symptoms of most poisons and regularly carried a basic stock of antidotes with him. For him to be caught off guard and for the onset to hit so quickly indicated that this wasn't a simple derivative; this was a new poison that Konoha most likely hadn't encountered. And while the use of new drugs and substances regularly appeared and disappeared on the battlefield, it was rare for one so potent to arrive on scene without some sort of warning, some sort of report or gossip.

His clone only glared back from beneath the rim of the hat, which hadn't been dislodged during the fighting, "Leave." Then turning dismissively, his clone melted out into a flock of crows, which flew outwards, causing both of his attackers to raise their hands defensively.

He continued watching the scene below as he assimilated his clone's memories.

The hat drifted down to the ground with a soft whisper. Both men were silent for a moment, before the silver haired one muttered in apparent disgust, "Genjutsu. How did he…?"

"Kabuto."

The masked man turned and bowed to the sannin, "My apologies. I’m not sure why-"

"Enough," Orochimaru hissed, "Get my hand."

Kabuto walked over to where the detached limb was and picked it up wordlessly. He paused however, once he held it, "Orochimaru-sama…"

The sannin glared.

"By taking the drug, we gained momentary immunity. However, that means I can't reattach – "

"I know what it means," Orochimaru snapped. He turned, shoving the injured end of his limb grotesquely into his mouth as he started walking back down the steps. After a moment, Kabuto followed, just as the sannin removed the stump from his mouth and spit a bloody glob to the side. Most likely, there was a paralytic in Orochimaru's saliva that the man used as a general anesthetic.

The two quickly descended out of sight. Soon, Itachi was left in silence, unable to do very much but review his clone's memories. Apparently, it had spotted the handful of powder Kabuto had released as he had intercepted the clone's first strike. The powder had been lighter than the snow, hovering in the air longer than snow should, causing the clone to hold its breath and wait patiently for the moment to attack Orochimaru.

He tried tightening his claws again to no avail.

It was little comfort to know that at least Kisame would start looking for him once night fell.

As he heard the wind's howl pick up and the branch shake threateningly beneath his feet, he closed his eyes. At that sudden, unexpected freedom, he pushed harder at his chakra. It squirmed but continued to stubbornly flow to his eyes and over the surface of his body. He noted with curiosity the lack of effort that was needed to maintain his current henge.

The branch bounced again. This time, he wasn't so lucky.

As he fell, he shoved more forcefully at his chakra. Finally, it reluctantly responded. Deactivating his sharingan, he promptly changed into a kunai, shoving all of his energy into holding that form.

The jolt from hitting the frozen ground beneath the snow caused him to release his tenuous hold on his chakra. The technique dispersed and he found himself splayed over the snow, staring up at the winter sky, still mostly paralyzed.

He watched as his breath drifted lazily upwards. Whatever the case, at least he had driven a wedge between the sannin and the Akatsuki. If there was one thing that he could appreciate about the group's leader, it was the man's intolerance for backstabbing within the group. Bickering and straight out attacks were accepted – just not to the metaphorical back, especially not during missions.

Even if Orochimaru could convince the others that there had been no ambush, his use as a core member of the group had been lost the moment his arm had been severed.

Breathing quietly in the snow, Itachi could almost feel a sense of grim satisfaction at that thought. If he got out of this, at least there was one less thing to worry about. Still, he'd have to find some way to warn the Hokage about the new drug.

The wind whistled through the branches again, reminding him of the whistles that his old captain liked to use. How long had it been?

Two years? Almost three? His brothers would be graduating soon. Blinking, he realized that it had started to snow. If he lowered his eyelids, he could make out a few snowflakes perched on his eyelashes.  _Would Sakya be willing to check in on them again?_

His fingers twitched. This time he could feel the needle-pricks of snowflakes landing. So it was like he'd suspected...

He waited for another ten seconds, during which sensation crept back with the cold, before attempting to sit up. The symptoms had disappeared almost as quickly as they had set in. Quietly, he stood.

Walking over to his hat, he shook off the snow and placed it back on his head. Looking up at the position of the sun, he suspected that the whole encounter had taken less than half an hour. If he hurried, he'd still be able to make it back in time.

Drawing the white cloth that hung from the edges of the hat back around his face, he resumed his trek up the stairs, alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's my birthday in half an hour. Leave a comment :D? (I'm shameless I know)


	14. Exploration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick notes:
> 
> 1\. Remember, characters' words may be incorrect.
> 
> 2\. To my knowledge, different Japanese characters can sound the same (like 'you're' and 'your'). Mikoto can be spelled with at least three different variations of characters. Each character carries its own separate meaning.

"What are you doing?"

Kabuto glanced back into the shadows briefly before resuming his work. Pushing up his glasses with the back of his gloved hand, he answered, "Testing Mikoto's Kiss."

His mentor chuckled, "I never asked, which 'Mikoto'? Heaven, life, beautiful harps?"

Carefully threading the cap's small tube through the vial's narrow opening, Kabuto inverted the small vial, which he then screwed into the lid of a cylindrical glass tank. Once that was done, he twisted the knob at the tank's base to the far right and faced Orochimaru. He smiled, "Life."

The sannin laughed outright. Finally stepping closer so that the overhead lamp illuminated his heavily bandaged face, he leaned down with interest as the vial was lowered into the tank. As soon as the vial touched the tank's floor, a fine mist sprayed out, "You aerosolized it?"

Kabuto nodded, eyes intent on the small white mouse that had emerged from the small burrow at the corner of the tank. Within seconds, the mouse froze.

Kabuto frowned.  _Still not fast enough_. To his frustration, he still hadn't been able to determine exactly when Itachi had created the genjutsu – or how he escaped. With a sigh, he jotted down the time in his notebook, "Have you seen the report?"

Orochimaru tapped once on the glass. The mouse didn't so much as quiver a whisker. "Yes, what concentration is this?"

The scratching of the pen stopped as Kabuto flipped back in his notes and answered, "It's a dilution actually – twenty percent." He resumed writing for a moment before stopping and closing the journal. He glanced once more at the timer before walking to the sannin's side and joining him in watching the motionless mouse.

Suddenly, Orochimaru spoke, "Did you find the reason for our bird's discrepant behavior?"

Without looking away from the glass, Kabuto replied, "His neighbors mentioned that he went on a trip awhile back."

Orochimaru hummed and returned to the shadows, "A trip?"

Kabuto checked the dials that monitored the balance of gases inside the tank, "None of the gates held records for his passage though. I haven't had the chance to speak personally with the man, but it appears that at least his trip didn't go past the village gates."

"Oh?"

The teen paused in the midst of adjusting the equipment and turned to look over his shoulder, "It didn't help that he apparently didn't recognize me." He turned back and waved a hand in the air, "At least that was what he wanted it to look like."

"So Tori's been compromised."

"Apparently."

Kabuto paused as he saw a whisker quiver. Setting down the parts he held in his hands, he moved back in front of the glass tank.

"By Danzo?"

He checked the timer, "Who else would interfere in such a fashion?"

Ignoring the soft hiss of disapproval, he recorded the time.

_Two minutes._

*

**Age 11.**

With a curse as he realized the time, Iruka darted over to the window. Sliding the window up, he leaned out and hollered, "Daikoku-san, it's been an hour!"

Shifting back as his colleague acknowledged his words, he slammed the window shut, cutting off the cries of excitement from the children training outside. Turning around, he leaned against the wall and watched as Mizuki wrote the lesson plan for the next day on the board.

Raising his brows in surprised, he commented, " _Another_  review?"

He could almost hear the devil-may-care smile on his friend's face, "Getting the basics down never hurt anyone."

Iruka opened his mouth, ready to protest for perhaps a full second before he forced himself to shut it. Pensively, he stared at the back of Mizuki's jacket. This was becoming a disturbingly familiar pattern. He knew many of his peers considered him to be too soft-hearted, and while he shared some traits with his friend, he never would have thought soft-heartedness to be one of them. Mizuki had always been the more impatient one.

What was going on?

"Mizuki…"

Crouching down, his former teammate continued to write with the chalk, "What's up?"

"Everything ok?"

Setting down the chalk, Mizuki turned around too face Iruka with a tolerantly amused expression and clapped the chalk off his hands, "Yeah."

Suddenly embarrassed, Iruka scratched the back of his neck, "It's just… you've been rather… fixed on the basics."

Mizuki let out a short bark of dismissive laughter, "You think I'm too fixed on the basics?"

Iruka flushed, "It's their last year – last  _semester_  for some. We usually start emphasizing the more advanced forms and the practical applications of the more advanced theory that they've learned."

If it was up to Iruka, he would have started on such material the year before. But between tradition and guaranteeing safety (especially given the size of his class), he was forced to conduct rote drills and memorization that he knew bored most of the students (never mind himself). He had hoped that with Mizuki's arrival, he'd have the support needed to introduce some of his new ideas to the older,  _more experienced_  teachers.

However, much to his confusion and dismay, he had been…disappointed.

It was strange; Mizuki had always been the one encouraging him to test the limits of the rulebook.

However, between lesson plan adjustments, inventorying weapon stock, examining the state of protective gearing, and after class conferences with concerned civilian parents, he didn't really have time to dwell on his confusion or disappointment

Naruto had also been a pretty big distraction.

Mizuki tilted his head to the side, giving him an incredulous look, "We? Listen, I know you started before me, but I'm pretty sure you haven't been teaching for more than six years. This has to be your first graduating class."

Turning around, Mizuki bent down to retrieve his belongings, "Really, Iruka. I know you're my senior as a teacher, but I've had a  _few_ more field missions compared to you – some I can't even talk about." As he spoke, he walked up to Iruka and clasped a hand on his shoulder, "I'm pretty sure I know a  _little_  bit about what's important for the kiddies to know." With a parting wink, he sauntered off.

Iruka opened his mouth and rotated his jaw as he fought down his temper. When he heard the door slam shut, he closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. Mizuki was probably just eager to prove himself. He didn't mean it  _that_  way.

The condescension still grated on his nerves.

"Iruka-sensei?"

He opened his eyes and barely managed not to jump.

Large blue eyes stared up at him. Naruto tilted his head to the side, "Are you ok?"

He didn't even have to force a smile. The kid was getting sneakier by the day.

Mizuki must have angered him more than he thought for him not to notice the little prankster. With a rueful grin, he crouched down, "Did you need something?"

The small pout that Naruto had been sporting burst into a large grin, "Yea! Watch this!" With that, he leapt back and started to form seals with earnest concentration.

With bemusement and growing chagrin, Iruka watched as Naruto formed increasingly sloppy seals, "BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" Wincing at the loud volume, Iruka dug a finger into his ear and watched as the smoke dispersed to reveal a surprisingly passable copy of the boy.

He blinked in disbelief at the sight before turning his attention back to the child, "Naruto…"

"Didja see, didja see? Lookit – it's totally a clone, right?!"

At his words, the clone struck a pose, knees and elbows together, hands outstretched below puckered lips. It was just as shameless as the original.

Iruka felt his eyelid twitch at the sight and quickly pressed his lips together. He refused to give Naruto the satisfaction of displaying a flabbergasted expression. But despite himself, he was impressed.

And confused.

The way Naruto had mangled those seals… it shouldn't have worked.

He was glad that the boy had finally appeared to master the technique that had troubled him for years. In fact, he had been meaning to address that problem for a while, but then Mizuki had made that disparaging remark in the teacher's lounge about the chances of class clowns who couldn't name Konoha's founding father ever amounting to anything and, sure, Mizuki probably hadn't meant it  _that_  way, but well, he couldn't help himself.

He'd made sure the little rascals could recite the history lessons better than if they had actually attended the class.

Of course, that had taken him quite a while to accomplish. To his embarrassment, he later realized that he could have saved much time and effort if he had analyzed the dynamics of Naruto's friend group earlier.

That said; his observations did come in handy when he'd next tried to shove down the basic tenets of chakra manipulation down their throats the following month.

Though, now that he thought about it, maybe he was only encouraging their truancy by attempting to teach them again after hours.

Narrowing his eyes, Iruka crossed his arms and leaned back on his heels, "Can you do it again?"

"AAaaahhh?" With a poof, the clone dispersed, leaving Naruto alone to scowl up at him in a hunched posture, "What'd I do wrrrrooonngg?"

Hurriedly, before Naruto could burst into a full out pout-fest, Iruka smiled, and waved his hands placating, "I just want to see it again. I'm pretty sure those weren't the seals we went over this past winter…"

Distracted, Naruto blinked and straightened, "Huh? Those are just the normal seals."

Iruka tried to hide his wince and opened his mouth to correct Naruto when the kid clapped a fist into an open palm, "Oooh, you mean the changes!"

"Changes?"

Naruto squinted his eyes and scratched his head, "Aaaah, what'd he say?"

Curious, Iruka questioned, "Did someone tell you to perform the seals like that?"

"Ah right!" Crossing both arms behind his head, Naruto grinned, "Yea! Kazuki suggested it." He frowned briefly with both eyes squinted closed in thought and tongue sticking out just the slightest bit, "He said it was like… My bladder was too full – so my pee kept on exploding on the fence."

Iruka blinked.

"Like I was letting it all go too fast, so it was just going like splat, but with the changes, it's like I only drank one bowl instead of six, so I can actually piss a pattern."

Happy that he'd been able to explain himself, Naruto looked up expectantly only to see Iruka pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Iruka-sensei?"

*

"Oh! And say that I was the best in … taijutsu!"

Sakura paused. The tip of her pen hovered over the paper. Looking up, she sent Kiba a look, "Are you sure you want me to write that?"

Kiba blinked in apparent confusion, "Why wouldn't I?"

Unabashedly, Sakura answered dryly, "You wanted this to be believable." She gestured at the report card with the back of the pen, "Isn't that why I'm the one forging these comments?"

Kiba sent her a glower, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Before she could reply, a faint hoot echoed down the hall, "Hooo-weeee."

Rolling her eyes, she shrugged and scribbled down the words Kiba had dictated to her. Meanwhile, Kiba gestured at his dog, who gave a soft bark toward the door.

After capping off the forgery of Mizuki's signature with one last flourish, she straightened and hopped off the chair that she had been using. Turning to face Kiba, she told him solemnly, "I'm blaming this all on you if we get caught."

Rolling his eyes, Kiba picked up the paper and tucked it back into the file, "We won't get caught. Mizuki-sensei's gone and Naruto's distracting Iruka-sensei. Besides Ino won't let Sasuke- _kun_  get in trouble, and she has Kazuki and Chouji with her for lookout. We'll be fine. Now edit Kazuki's grades."

Huffing, Sakura stomped over to the table and crawled onto the chair. Bracing herself with one hand on the table, she reached for the pen and scrawled out Mizuki's signature just as Sasuke came into the room. Looking up with a smile, she laid the report aside and leapt down in front of Kiba, "Sasuke-kun! Did you change the averages?"

Sasuke nodded distractedly and glanced out the window as he answered, "Yea, did you two finish the comment section?"

Hurriedly, she grabbed the documents and shoved it into the corresponding folder before handing the folder off to Kiba. With a chirp, she answered, "Yup."

Behind her, she heard the sound of a drawer sliding opened as Kiba muttered, "Sure,  _now_  you're all happy for your – OW!"

As Sasuke snapped his head around at Kiba's yell, Sakura took her foot off of Kiba's foot.

"What's wrong?"

Flapping a hand, Sakura just widened her smile, "Ah, Kiba just got his hand caught in the drawer." Leaning back, she reached past Kiba to close the drawer while winking at Akamaru. The puppy, who had been giving her a disapproving look (she still had no idea how the dog could do that), shrank back, seemingly mollified.

The cookie treats she had baked earlier had probably helped.

Satisfied with her answer, Sasuke darted to the door and stood on tiptoes to look out the window.

With Sasuke's attention averted, Sakura turned around to see Kiba sitting cross legged on the floor, holding his foot and pouting at his canine. He looked up with a glare, "I liked you better when you were shy."

She smiled sweetly back at him just as Sasuke darted back. Making urgent shooing motions, he ushered them into the adjacent office. As they piled into the cupboard containing the racks for the Academy's training equipment, she retorted out of the side of her mouth, "You have only yourself to blame for that."

Turning, she missed the multiple faces Kiba made at her back.

*

"I saw that."

Naruto stared back at him, unabashed.

Crossing his arms, Iruka shifted his weight back to his other leg, "What's wrong?"

At that question, Naruto looked down and to the side, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Naruto?"

Grudging, the boy started, "It's just…"

Crouching down to eye-level, Iruka questioned, "Just what?"

"I thought you'd be happier."

Blue eyes flickered forward to meet his eyes before darting away again.

Startled, Iruka felt both brows lifting in surprise before coming back down in confusion, "Happier? What makes you think I'm not happy? I'm really impressed – "

Blue eyes swung back, "No, you're not!" Flushing red now, Naruto's lips trembled before parting for an onrush of words, "You keep on asking me to repeat it! Even after I showed you that I got it, you make me do it again – like you can't believe I can do it. When we're out, all you do is lecture me about history or theory or how my friends are doing. You never ask about me. It's like you're ashamed of me. You said you thought I could be the Hokage, but all you do is lecture me!"

Finishing that last word, Naruto panted.

Iruka stared. He realized he had been staring too long when Naruto seemed to realize what he'd said in his outburst and took a step back. Despite his apparent retreat, the boy still kept staring defiantly back at him.

He couldn't help it. He tried to disguise the giggle that was escaping as a cough, but he knew he hadn't fooled Naruto when the boy took another step back. The kid's eyes were starting to water.

Hurriedly, he reached out. Ignoring the boy's flinch, he yanked the boy into his arms and rested his chin on top of his head, "I wasn't laughing at you."

The boy was rigid with tension.

He sighed, "I was laughing at the thought of no one lecturing the Hokage."

He felt the boy push against his chest and loosened his hold so that the boy could look up at him. He smiled at the shock he saw in the child's face, "I'm not ashamed of you. I lecture you because there are many tests you'll have to pass to become a Hokage, and I ask about your friends because I don't want you to take those tests alone. And yes, I still plan on lecturing you even once you become my Hokage."

Feeling the boy start to relax in his arms, he released his hold and sat down cross-legged on the dusty classroom floor. He needed to wash that pair of pants he was wearing anyway, "I asked you to repeat what you did so many times, because I wanted to be sure that you had it right."

Naruto was pouting now, but the corners of his mouth were drawing up, as if the boy wanted to believe him but wasn't sure how.

Leaning forward so that he was looking up at Naruto, he made sure that he had the boy's full attention. Slowly, like a storyteller creeping up to the climax of a story, he continued, "Because, if what you said was right, what you did was amazing."

Silence reined for a moment as the boy blinked at him. The boy shifted, and dropped his gaze to the ground. Scuffing the floor with one toe, the boy looked back up from under long blond lashes, "Really?"

Iruka smiled, "Yes, really."

The boy twisted his mouth to one side and brought up one hand to rub the back of his neck, seemingly embarrassed, "Ah well, Kazuki was the one who showed me it." Like an afterthought, he tacked on almost grudgingly, "Sasuke helped too."

Iruka smiled, "But can they do what you just did?" He asked it mostly to make a point, but a part of him was curious at the answer as well.

Naruto tilted his head back in thought before swinging it back forward and shaking it from side to side, his whole body wriggling with the motion, "No-ooo."

Iruka rested his hands on his hips and shot Naruto a look, causing the boy grin to grow wider. Sitting back, he only managed to just shift his weight back in time to catch the Naruto as the boy launched himself into his arms.

As the child gave an admirable effort towards squeezing all the air out of his lungs, Iruka wheezed out a laugh. A part of him that he thought he'd long since buried was surfacing.

It wasn't right that Naruto had to struggle so hard to perform an elementary jutsu, and if the boy had to concentrate that hard every single time, then the technique was basically useless in a live combat situation. Moreover, if the explanation that Naruto had given was correct (and who would have ever considered  _too much_ chakra to be a problem for an elementary student – though in hindsight…), then the situation seemed even more unfair for the boy.

Unless, he taught the boy the Kage Bunshin. It _was_ a clone technique after all, albeit an advanced one.

The large chakra demands of the technique would make it a perfect fit for the boy, but the kickback from the memories could be a little much. Not to mention, the clones often had self-agency, and Iruka almost wanted to cringe at the thought of more hyperactive blonds jumping around while he taught.

He patted Naruto on the back and made a face as the boy only hugged him tighter.

It also could end badly. If he was wrong, teaching such a technique could kill the boy – especially with the boy's impulsive personality. Additionally, if Naruto tried to teach the technique to his friends, he could inadvertently be causing the death of his other students.

Biting his lip, he stared down into the boy's hair with indecision.  _How did the Naruto manage to get so much chalk in his hair?_

As he absently studied the specks of white in tufts of blond hair, the words that had so annoyed him from earlier drifted to the forefront of his mind.

" _I'm pretty sure I know a little bit about what's important for the kiddies to know."_

Then again, he could do a couple harmless tests to ensure that Naruto was ready for the jutsu. If the boy was ready, he was fairly certain that he remembered enough of his prankster days to impress the need of keeping the knowledge of the technique secret to the boy – at least until the kid graduated. Then it'd be the boy's jounin instructor's problem.

Gingerly, he started to pry Naruto's arms off, "Naruto."

"Hmm."

With a grin, he applied more force until he was holding Naruto in front of him like a recalcitrant puppy, "Naruto, are you paying attention?"

The boy whined, eyes conspicuously wet, "Whhaaatt?"

"How would you like to learn a super awesome technique?"

If the boy had a rabbit's ears, Iruka was fairly certain they would have been perked straight up, "What technique? I mean yes, YEsyeseyesyesyes-YES!"

As he attempted to quiet the boy, Iruka couldn't help but hope that he was right about the boy's chakra.

He'd prove Mizuki wrong. These kids were capable of so much more than his friend could imagine.

*

Kazuki frowned to himself. Slumped over with his arms hanging loosely at his sides, he rested his forehead against the wall and grumbled, "This is such a pain."

Ino didn't even spare him a glance, "No one said you had to be here."

Rolling his head to the side, Kazuki shot her his most unimpressed look, "…  _you_  said I had to be here."

Waving a hand idly at him, she muttered a distracted, "Uh-huh, that's nice."

Kazuki sighed and resumed his original position against the wall. He would have taken the opportunity to drowse, but Ino had been getting better and better at catching him. He heaved another sigh and ignored the annoyed glance Ino shot him. If this had been a year ago, if he thought that grades were the sole factor in the composition of genin teams, he might have been more interested. However, his talk with Shikaku that fall had long disabused him of that notion.

.

" _Not Kakashi?"_

_He looked over his shoulder to meet Shikaku's gaze above a stack of varied colored scrolls._

_Setting down his kunai, Kazuki turned around with a frown and rested both elbows on the table behind him, "No." Noting the man's apparent interest in his apparently unexpected answer, he probed, "Why?"_

_He waited patiently as Shikaku proceeded to yawn while waving a free hand at the sake bottle. With a disgruntled sigh, he came forward to pour the old man a cup. Setting down the bottle, he resumed his previous position against the back table._

_Instead of answering, the man only took another look at the pile of scrolls sitting by his right elbow and heaved another sigh._

_Scratching his head, Kazuki heaved a sigh before he found himself yawning into his elbow. He was reluctant to push, but at the same time, he didn't want to be seen leaving the Akimichi restaurant after sunset, which was in an hour._

_Luckily, Shikaku spoke before he had to make a decision, "What do you know about how genin teams are formed?"_

_He barely managed to keep himself from straightening with interest. This was a topic he'd been meaning to broach for some time now. Still, he doubted Shikaku had missed his aborted twitch._

" _Iruka-sensei said that it was based on our grades. Teams were supposed to have the same average score."_

_Shikaku raised his brows. Kazuki wasn't sure what to make of the man's increasingly open expressions – for a Nara anyway. The fact that the man had told him about the Hokage's probe into Danzo had been a huge surprise. But as much as he wanted to jump on that sign of trust, another part of him that noted every twitch and blink that was slower or missing, that differed from his dreams, as a sign that the trust was all for show._

_It was ridiculous, he knew, for him to be stuck on the differences. But as much as these differences sparked a sense of hurt and disappointment, they also helped him maintain that distance._

_He didn't want to betray anyone's memory. It was an annoying position to be in._

" _You never became a jounin?" The scratching of the pen had resumed; Shikaku had returned to his report and had spoken without looking up._

_Kazuki shrugged, "Ranks didn't really matter by the end." He wasn't above dropping hints for the man to actually finish reading his report. To be fair, he knew that Shikaku was swamped between the Hokage's unofficial assignment, duties as a clan head and Jounin Commander, and cross-referencing the events mentioned early in his miniature report._

_Though he was slightly anxious for Shikaku's insight on the matters, he had also placed the report in the man's lap for a reason. He was already slightly concerned that his actions might cause the man to miss details in other cases. There was no point in trying to solve problems early, only to create new ones in the process; changing one small event might have cascading effects – something he suspected had already started to happen._

_He'd dumped the complicated mess on the other man. So as much as he hinted, he didn't push._

_In response, Shikaku merely hummed noncommittally as he blew on the report to dry the ink, before setting the report on top of the pile to his left. Tucking his hand into his vest, he retrieved two scrolls, which he then flung at Kazuki with the order, "Mourning flower."_

_With a grimace at the sudden test, Kazuki formed a messy rat seal and hurriedly muttered, "Kuro Higanbana no jutsu!"_

_Clumsily, his shadows sprung up like waves to catch the two scrolls. Barely letting a second go by, Kazuki swiftly released the technique as he retrieved the two scrolls._

" _Those are for you," Shikaku paused, and gave him a pointed, if amused, look, "to_ ** _work_** on _."_

_This time Kazuki didn't stop himself from rolling his eyes, "I know, I know."_

" _I never taught you the Black Spider Lily?"_

_Kazuki shrugged and kept his eyes on the two scrolls, "Never got around to it."_

_Shikaku stood up and began reordering the colored documents, "Out of curiosity, who_ _did end up on Kakashi's team?"_

_Kazuki shot him a wry look, "Are you going to answer my question?"_

_Shikaku reached out for his cup, before answering with an affirmative hum; his attention was once again seemingly caught by the reports before him. With a flick of the wrist, the man unrolled another document._

_Idly, Kazuki wondered if Yoshino was aware of this current sake stash that Shikaku had squirreled away. With a shrug, he tucked the scrolls into his shirt, "My twin, Naruto, and Haruno Sakura."_

_The scratching of Shikaku's pen stopped for a moment, "Haruno – a civilian?"_

_Curiosity rising, Kazuki answered, "Yes."_

_Shikaku raised both eyebrows for a moment before shrugging. He made a few underlines on the paper before setting his pen down and leaning back, "Grades do play a part in team formations, but do you really believe that is it?"_

_Kazuki shrugged and turned back to the table where he had been sharpening Chiharu's cleavers. Picking up the large blade and the whetstone, he turned around, "I'm guessing parents can make … suggestions to the Academy instructors?"_

_Shikaku nodded his head from side to side and took another sip from his cup, "To a certain extent, but consider why student scores are averaged." Leaning forward again, he picked up his pen and pointed it at Kazuki, who placed the blade and whetstone back down on the back table, "I assume you've heard the usual spiel about how the top and bottom ranked students are matched with the student that has the median score?"_

_At Kazuki's nod, Shikaku shifted back and made a few more marks on the scroll before rolling it up and placing it to the side, "If teams were just based on grade averages and requests from parents, why bother placing the top ranked student with the lowest ranked student?"_

_Kazuki blinked and set the blade back behind him. Running his fingers over the surface of the whetstone, he frowned, "As opposed to pairing the dead last with two above average students?"_

_Making an affirmative motion with his pen, Shikaku returned attention to the next scroll. Unrolling the document with a careless wave, Shikaku asked, "Think about your brother's team – I'm guessing there was some infighting?"_

_Kazuki startled, "How did you know-?"_

" _That Kakashi had the dead-last, first-ranked, plain average team assignment?"_

" _Yea."_

_Shikaku rolled his head around and hid a wince at the cracks that echoed in the small room, "Female Academy students, especially from civilian backgrounds, are almost guaranteed to be average – strong in theory, but horrendous in practicals. Orphans historically tend to do the worst through lack of guidance and discipline, and then we have your brother."_

_He looked at Kazuki, "You'd be an exception, but older clans are known to push their children. Not to mention, Inoichi's heard enough about your brother's achievements, so I know he's currently top-ranked. If I assume Sasuke also graduated first in the class, then everything follows." With a quick smile, he returned his gaze to the document before him and frowned. Grabbing one of the earlier scrolls, he unrolled it to make a small notation before commenting offhandedly, "Besides, you just confirmed it."_

_Preoccupied with reading the report, it took Shikaku a moment to realize that the boy hadn't responded. Biting his thumb, he smeared a line of blood through the circle on the top corner of the document, closed the scroll, and looked up in time to see Kazuki absent mindedly levitating the whetstone with shadows that trailed out over his hands from beneath his sleeves._

_No matter how many times he saw that ease with hidden and indistinct shadows, he was still impressed._

_As if sensing his gaze, Kazuki met his eyes with a troubled expression and released the technique, letting the whetstone drop back into his hand, "Were there many genin teams like that?"_

_Shikaku smiled. The boy had figured it out then._

_The best student in the class was considered the 'best' by only the Academy standards, by **their** methods of measuring aptitude. It was an admirable achievement, but one that often didn't translate easily onto the field. Moreover, these students often defined themselves by the title of being the best, and while threats to their position were certainly good motivators, they could also be good blindfolds._

_Realizing that they could not be the best at everything nor against everyone was often a rude wakeup call– a crisis of identity that they couldn’t afford._

_So of course, they were paired up with the one person who could potentially provide the rudest wake-up call of all, the dead last._

_It didn't always work out that way. The student at the bottom of the class wasn't always at last place because of a lack of effort. Sometimes, they genuinely were just a late-bloomer._

_It was a teacher's worst nightmare, having two students on opposite ends of the skill spectrum. While the dead last in the class might still learn_ something _as the first in the class was taught, it was a much different case in the reverse. As much of a trial as it was for the teacher, it was also a test for the team._

_Would they help one another? Arguably, the top rookie might have some insights that could help the bottom ranked student learn; and as any teacher knew, sometimes the best lessons were obtained by teaching._

_Yet, social stigma and personal pride could be powerful demotivators._

_The test of teamwork was perhaps the hardest and easiest test given to graduating Academy students. It was also the one most often given to teams with the broadest spectrum of grades, because if they could not even manage to listen to one another, then there was a good chance that they wouldn't listen to their jounin instructor when it would count the most._

_Then there was the student caught in the middle._

_Giving Kazuki a wry grin, Shikaku answered, "Not many. Most jounin instructors are reluctant to accept such a team."_

_Kakashi really had the worst luck._

_He wondered what could have made the man change his mind, because as far as he was aware, the man had no intentions of taking on a genin team. The first thing that jumped to mind was the jinchuriki, but he was fairly certain that the Sandaime's 'request' to all of Minato's former acquaintances was still in place._

_He pushed his thoughts to the side. Propping his elbows on the table, Shikaku folded his hands in front of his face and continued, "They're usually last in their age group to take the Chuunin Exams."_

_Kazuki nodded and looked down with furrowed brows._

_Shikaku watched over the lip of his cup as he took another gulp of sake. From the way the boy was frowning, he was fairly certain he knew the conclusions that the boy had been drawing._

_After all, the graduation rate at the Academy was already fairly low. Creating a team that was basically expected to fail hardly seemed like the best of use of anyone's time._

_Had he seen what was so curious about Haruno Sakura's placement?_

_He considered the boy for another moment before shrugging._ Why not?  _There wasn't really a point in dancing around the subject any more._

_Shikaku tilted his head forward intently, "To be honest, I thought you would have been assigned to that team, with or without your grades."_

_Kazuki frowned, "Because of Naruto and the fact that we're orphans?" Because we have no parents to protest our placement with a jinchuriki?_

_Despite his own choice to be more direct, Shikaku was a little surprised that the boy had also responded directly in turn, "Partially. In a small part, your temperament would have also helped to balance the volatility of the team."_

_Shikaku could find no indication if the boy was surprised by his own candidness._

_Kazuki prompted, "But?"_

_"There's also the fact that Kakashi is the only shinobi in the village who knows how to use a sharingan."_

" _And because he was the Yondaime's student, it would make sense for him to request Naruto?"_

_Shikaku licked his lips, stalling for that brief second to cover his surprise. He had to admit, the one advantage to the whole mess of dealing with Kazuki was that he was rarely bored._

_He supposed that despite the Hokage's request to Minato's closest acquaintances and the change of surname, it would be hard to disguise the familial connection to anyone who had eyes and knew the basics of Konoha’s history._

_“Yes, in part." Knowing that his pause had not gone unnoticed, he continued with an explanation that he'd been meaning to give the boy so that it'd seem like he had used the pause to determine the explanation's wording, "As you may know, few shinobi have the all-round skillset to become a jounin – fewer still are ready and willing to become an instructor. Getting attached to a team is a huge responsibility and vulnerability."_

_At those words, Kazuki let out a short breath and his eyes flitted to the side for a brief moment._

_Abruptly, Asuma's bloodied face flashed through Shikaku's mind, and he tightened his hands against one another. He really needed to finish the boy's report._

_He still had a hard time seeing Asuma as a jounin instructor. He'd had his suspicions based on the pattern of names that had been listed in the outline that Kazuki had given him._

_Still, next month did mark the third year of the man's return. He supposed that it had been awhile since the guy had joined the Twelve Guardians._

_Continuing, as if he hadn't noticed Kazuki's brief lapse in focus, Shikaku elaborated, "Hence, to protect not only the lives of the students but also the time that's been invested in them, teams are constructed to increase their odds of surviving their first combat."_

_Shikaku lowered his hands, "They should still be operating by that principle. It's the only reason I can see that you weren't placed on a team with Kakashi. Tell me, who graduated with you?"_

_Kazuki frowned, "Akimichi Chouji, Yamanaka Ino, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hyuuga Hinata."_

_Shikaku raised an eyebrow pointedly._

_Kazuki swallowed, "They're all from major clans."_

_If they had all taken the graduation exam at the same time, as they had undoubtedly been encouraged to do, then the chances for becoming genin were close to none for the rest of the students. It wasn't fair, but it was effective. Keeping students with valuable clan techniques together raised the chances of success for everyone involved._

_It was through that logic, that Shikaku had already suspected which students had graduated with Kazuki, before the boy had even spoken their names._

_Shikaku nodded, "And you still have those gendered classes?"_

_Kazuki narrowed his eyes and nodded._

" _And you've heard a little about what the girls learn?"_

_The boy nodded again with the same furrowed brow expression._

_Unable to resist, Shikaku continued dangling out one fact after another, curious to see when the boy would put everything together, "Now, the specialists at the mission desk do their best to ensure that skillsets are matched appropriately to the mission assigned. However, no one can prepare for every eventuality. Now, what's a genin team's first reaction to danger when their instructor is absent?"_

_Placing the whetstone behind him, Kazuki hopped backwards to sit on the desk, "An unknown danger?"_

" _Unknown or known to be too dangerous," Shikaku confirmed._

" _To run or hide until they can rendezvous with –"_

" _-the instructor," Shikaku finished, "But what happens if they do not sense the danger in time? What if they do not hide themselves in time?"_

_Kazuki blinked. As the boy's frown faded, Shikaku grinned,_ **_the kid got it_ ** _._

_Through popular stories and traditional values, girls were often interested in different matters than boys, sensitive to topics that their male counterparts would normally dismiss. Inevitably, that would often change with age. But before then, the Academy curriculum took advantage of the general difference in interests- at least the public expectation of that difference. Whereas it might look out of place for a young boy to take notice of a floral arrangement, it was much more innocuous for a girl to do the same._

" _So every team has a girl assigned to it?"_

_Shikaku nodded, "When the numbers allow." He shifted his weight to one side, and rested his head on one hand. As he spoke, he raised a finger for every point, all the while, keeping his eyes fixed on Kazuki, "So we have class standings, gender, parent-guardian feedback, and bloodlines. Can you think of anything else that would be a factor?"_

_Even as Kazuki answered, Shikaku could see that the boy was drawing out other conclusions by his short answer, "Temperament."_

_Shikaku waited._

_Kazuki lowered his head, hiding his expression as he scratched the top of his head, before looking back up, "And the jounin instructor."_

_Shikaku tilted his head to the side, but the boy was already speaking, "The ability to adapt would be essential, which means that having a wide diversity of talents and personalities would be the most desirable. At the same time, it would be ideal for Konoha's military strength, if some of these teams could start to specialize early. If teams were to_ effectively  _specialize early, the jounin instructors have to have the final say into team formations."_

_There was an indecipherable emotion on Kazuki's face. The boy pushed himself further onto the desk and asked, "Who did you think the genin teams were?"_

_Shikaku scratched his neck, "From the initial missions that you've mentioned, I take it that Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi were the three instructors with passing teams?"_

_The boy nodded._

_If there were only two girls, then Ino and the Hyuuga were most likely on separate teams. As a female firstborn, the Hyuuga girl had most likely been brought up to have a quiet demeanor, which meant a more excitable character probably paired with the girl. From the list of clans the boy had mentioned, the Inuzaka boy seemed the most probable candidate._

_The combination of a Hyuuga and an Inuzaka had the potential to become a powerful tracker team. Considering both were fairly close-ranged fighters, the ideal candidate to finish the team would have to be the Aburame._

_If that was the case, then Kazuki had most likely been on a team with Ino and Chouji. Considering the fact that the boy was an Uchiha, the trio had most likely been built for quick infiltration missions._

" _You wanted to know the odds of ending on the same team with Ino and Chouji?"_

_Kazuki's gaze flickered. His guesses had been correct then._

_Before the boy could answer, Shikaku ducked his head and sighed, "I'll see what I can do." As he raised his head to meet the child's startled gaze, he stated flatly, "I'll have to bring their parents into the fold."_

_Without missing a beat, Kazuki replied, "Of course."_

_Shikaku blinked for a moment before groaning. Rubbing his face with one hand, he grumbled, "This is going to be such a pain." Letting his fingers split open, he peered at the boy, "Which you knew…"_

_The Uchiha only returned a lazy grin._

_Letting his hands drop to the table, he rested his chin on an open palm, "Alright, I'll put in a word." Shooting the boy a look, he continued, "_ **_We'll_ ** _tell them after you pass your sensei's test."_

_His grin might have been a touch too delighted at the boy's responding slouch of disappointment._

*

Blinking at the flooded classroom, Iruka sighed. There was no question about it. The boy definitely could handle the jutsu.

"Ahh…. Sorry!" Naruto squeaked out.

Iruka watched with some bemusement as Naruto lunged for the floating bucket before wading and splashing his way over to the window. With a grunt the boy, slid the window open as high as his short stature would allow, and started to empty buckets of water out the window.

With a laugh, Iruka hopped onto the surface of the water and jogged over, "Naruto, it's ok. I should have anticipated this."

The boy shook his head quickly, reminding Iruka of the way puppies would shake themselves dry, "I got this!"

Iruka laughed again, and this time, leaned down to pull Naruto out of the water and positioned the boy on his back, "Just hold on ok?"

This time Naruto finally noticed that his teacher was standing on water, "Whoa, how are you doing that?"

Iruka winced at the boy's loud volume and turned his head so that his ears were no longer positioned right next to the boy's mouth. With a pained smile, he reached for the boy's wrists to emphasize his next words, "Are you holding on tight?"

Naruto nodded; his prickly hair managed to brush against Iruka's neck, making the man remind himself of the need to bug the boy into getting a haircut.

Reaching to his sides, he lifted the boy's legs so that the boy's hold on him felt tighter, "And to answer your question, I'm using chakra control to stand on the water – which you would know if you'd stop skipping class."

Predictably, as he slid the window up higher, Naruto whined, "Aww, but Mizuki's so boring."

Mildly, as he formed the seals, Iruka answered, "I teach the class sometimes."

Shamelessly, Naruto broadened his complaint, "But lectures are so boring."

Torn between amusement and exasperation, Iruka twisted his mouth upwards momentarily before gesturing his arms out the window. With a gush, a thin tendril rose up before thickening and taking the form of a long serpent that then dove out the window.

"Whoaaa."

Iruka smiled to himself at the boy's impressed murmur, before he hurriedly looked out the window as he realized that he might be reprimanded for flooding the Academy's back lawn.

Seeing no one around, he breathed a sigh of relief just as the last of the serpent disappeared.

With his feet back on the ground, Iruka carefully set Naruto down before climbing the raised platforms in the classroom to reach the windows that were higher up at the back of the classroom, "Well, that concludes that test."

Curious, Naruto had followed Iruka on his heels, "Did I pass?"

Opening the last window so that the classroom could dry overnight, Iruka smiled, "Yup – though I thought I asked you to just fill the pail?"

Naruto looked down and scuffed his foot, "I said I was sorry, I didn't mean to flood the classroom."

Iruka blinked, "You were holding back?"

Naruto pouted, "I did my best!"

Iruka laughed, and started to make his way down, picking up sodden sheets of paper here and there as he went, "I never thought you weren't – you just did much better than I expected."

With a dubious voice, Naruto hopped onto a desk and swung his legs, "I did?"

Straightening up, Iruka looked up to see the boy holding out another clump of sodden sheets. Taking the sodden mess in hand, Iruka grinned, "You did."

Making one last survey of the classroom, Iruka jumped down to the front of the classroom and tossed the wet crumpled paper into the trash, "In fact, I'd say this calls for ramen?"

"RAMEEEEN!"

Laughing at the boy's exuberant cheer, Iruka gathered his things that were thankfully not soaked through, and headed to the door at the back of the classroom, "Yup. We can go right now if you want."

At Naruto's loud cheer, Iruka laughed, "Just let me put some things away in my office, okay?"

Naruto's cheer cut off abruptly and the boy paused the midst of one of his celebratory hops. With one foot still in the air and both arms still raised over his head, the boy questioned, "Your office?"

Iruka narrowed his eyes briefly before closing them as he smiled and chirped, "Yup, my office." Opening his eyes, he gave Naruto an innocent glance, "Why? Is there something else you need?"

The boy flushed and looked off to the side, scratching his head, "Uhh, no?"

It was almost adorable how transparent the kid was. Truth be told, after the stories he'd heard from Daikoku and Suzume, he'd been expecting some sort of attempt on the gradebooks, especially since quarter reports were due to be sent out soon. He just hadn't expected an attempt to be made while he was still in the building.

With a shrug, he turned back.

"Waitwaitwaitwaiiiiit!"

Iruka paused, hand on the door handle, and looked over his shoulder, "What is it?"

"Uhh," the boy looked at the ceiling, his whole body angled backwards. It was times like this that made Iruka wonder how people still thought the boy was a demon, because the child sucked at duplicity.

"I know!"

Iruka waited, "Yes?"

"Ehehe, what's the name of the jutsu?"

Iruka blinked, "Jutsu?"

Naruto fussed, stamping one foot impatiently, "Yeah! The jutsu that you said you'd teach me? Also, why can't you show me something now?" The boy inched closer and clasped both hands together in a supplicatory pose, "Pleeeaase? If you show me something now, I could work on it tonight!"

Iruka rubbed his nose as he thought.

On one hand, he was kind of curious what havoc was being wrecked in his office.

Naruto shuffled closer, eyes wide and lower lip jutting out as he bounced his whole body up and down.

On the other hand, it was Mizuki's turn to write and send out the reports.

Feeling a little guilty, he turned around from the floor and squatted down, "Alright."

Pretending that he hadn't seen the way the boy's shoulders momentarily dropped with relief before springing back up, he cut off the boy's cheer, "But-"

Naruto's eyes were riveted on his raised finger, "But, you have to do what I say."

"Ok!"

He really was a vindictive bastard. With a mental shrug (because it'd really been too long since the last time he'd pulled something like this), he gave Naruto a smile. By the suddenly nervous look that the boy sent him, he suspected that he might have looked a little too excited.

"The technique I'm going to show you is called the Kage Bunshin."

*

Blowing on his hands before folding them both into his sleeves, Jiraiya gingerly made his way over onto the windowsill. Winter had arrived much too early in his opinion, but at least it wasn't that cold this year.

Sensing an approaching chakra signal, he turned and spotted one of the Hokage's guard in the shadows. Giving the startled shinobi a nod and grin, he settled back into the little corner he had found and sat down. He ignored the ANBU operative who had followed him over the side of the rooftop and blatantly pressed his ear against the cold glass with a slight wince.

Hearing a cough, he peeled his cheek away from the window to shoot the ANBU a glare and a signal to quiet down. The shinobi coughed again in a way that sounded suspiciously like a badly disguised snicker before disappearing in a gust of leaves.

_Fussy busybodies._

Rolling his eyes, he returned his attention to the Hokage's office in time to hear a diminutive woman in a traditional kimono with a bowl-cut huff, "Fine. Just until they graduate."

"I appreciate it Noa."

Noa shifted her weight, "I wasn't kidding though; they haven't really needed supervision from me for a while."

She looked away, as if she had just admitted some great weakness or failing. Hiruzen stood up with a smile and nodded, "So you've said. Still, it would ease many minds, including mine, if you could stay until they've graduated."

To her credit, the girl didn't give up and offered, "I could just drop in on them from time to time. I know a few people who did that for those emancipated students from the orphanage."

The Hokage came around his desk and shook his head, "And while I have no doubt that you and them would be happier, – "

Noa flushed.

Sarutobi continued, " – It would greatly complicate certain matters."

Jiraiya let out a short breath of amusement. Was his old teacher referring to complications such as the clamor of clans to 'adopt' one of those boys?

The whole situation reminded him slightly of the hurdles that Minato had to overcome with his efforts to keep Kakashi from being adopted into the Uchiha clan.

"For their safety and continued well-being, I'd appreciate it if you could continue as you have." With that, the Hokage ducked his head, causing Noa to hurriedly bow back, dipping her head so low that her forehead was almost touching her legs.

Jiraiya hummed appreciatively, as he watched the Sandaime then take the chance to urge her to straighten, "Please, just take it as a request of a sentimental old man?"

Flustered, the girl stammered her assent as Sarutobi guided her to the door. With a smile, he thanked her and closed the door, "Get in here, Jiraiya."

With a shrug and a laugh, Jiraiya slid open the glass door and tumbled in, flipping in mid-air so that he landed with his butt already in a chair that was placed just under the window.

He watched as his old teacher moved to his side to close the window above him, before backing away to lean against the side of the desk.

The old man crossed his arms and stared at Jiraiya, "Well?"

Jiraiya broke out in a wide open mouthed smile. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out his latest novel and tossed over his latest novel, "Just published, hot off the presses. Reserved one just for you."

His old teacher had already opened the cover and flipping through the pages.

"I had a draft that I wanted to get your opinion on, but Hatake's brat wanted revenge on the both of us – something about you assigning Gai to him?"

Hiruzen nodded distractedly.

"In any case, I hope you like this one, cuz I finally got around to having Fuko fight with Anki, and-" He was cut off as his old instructor suddenly shook his head in a jump and closed the book with a snap.

Jiraiya grinned wider as he noted the Hiruzen's slight blush. It was good to know that his ability to distract hadn't waned.

Clearing his throat, Hiruzen stated, "Thank you for the book, but that wasn't why I wanted to see you."

Unable to resist, Jiraiya pouted and spread out his arms, "Awww, you didn't miss me?"

"How much have you heard about Danzo?"

Jiraiya blinked and rapidly sobered. Letting his hands fall to his sides, he tilted his head, "What's this about?"

Hiruzen looked down for a moment, before crossing the room to take a seat behind his desk, "I assume you heard about the massacre."

Jiraiya arched a brow, "Of the Uchiha? Who hasn't?" Suddenly, Jiraiya frowned and narrowed his eyes, "What happened?"

Hiruzen let out a heavy sigh before meeting Jiraiya's eyes, "You were gone for a long time."

Unfazed, Jiraiya returned, "I'm back now, aren't I?" Some of his apprehension must have shown on his face, because Hiruzen broke his gaze and reached out for his pipe.

Uneasy now, Jiraiya crossed his arms and leaned back, against the wall, "What's he done?"

The Hokage sucked in a breath, before blowing out a thin plume of smoke. Closing his eyes, he answered, "He never liked the idea of Minato captaining our little ship. How do you think he'd feel about reports of others wishing to be the head?"

_A coup?_

Jiraiya swallowed, "You're certain."

Sarutobi leveled a steady look back at him.

For a brief moment, he was reminded of the look he'd get after telling one too many fibs.

Right, he'd never been able to fool the old geezer. As much as he'd grown to enjoy playing the fool over the years, his own reputation as a Sannin had pulled a damper on his ability to convince others of his ineptitude.

He still managed, though, about like half of the time – now  _that_  took talent.

Still, he'd never been able to fool himself, and when he'd first heard about the massacre, he'd had his own suspicions. He broke Sarutobi's gaze and looked away.

There was a soft clatter as Hiruzen set the pipe down, "I asked Shikaku to look into Danzo."

Jiraiya snapped his head around, "The man agreed?!"

Hiruzen gave him a somber smile, "I told him that I wanted to start preparing a successor."

At that, Jiraiya swung around to face the window.

Because everyone had expected that said successor to Danzo, if not a successor to Hiruzen, would be Orochimaru. The man had the genius and touch for the underhanded dealings that was an integral part of the war.

However, he doubted anyone could have predicted the sheer talent and charisma of Minato, especially with respect to the war.

Orochimaru had a flair for the dramatics; he could make a room silent just by speaking and an audience sweat just by smiling.

Minato, on the other hand, wasn't so conspicuous – until he was, until he removed over a thousand Iwa-nin by his lonesome. (The kid then had the gall to confess to him that the whole thing had been an accident. Sadly, he had no trouble imagining that.)

But as much as everyone, including (grudgingly) himself, recognized Orochimaru for his intelligence, Jiraiya sometimes wondered if the man had understood their sensei's intentions when he'd chosen Minato over Orochimaru.

 _Beneath the underneath_.

Had his old teammate only heard the criticism? (Because as 'secret' as those meetings was, he had no doubt that Danzo had related the news that Hiruzen had not only chosen another person over his own student, but also criticized Danzo's decision as well.)

Orochimaru had never been a dreamer, and was a realist at best – an attitude which had saved their team a number of times. But for all of his accomplishments, the man's ego was also surprisingly sensitive.

 _That was the problem with young prodigies. They were too accustomed to success, too susceptible to insecurity, that when they fell, they didn't just fall – they_ dove _._

Speaking out the window, Jiraiya asked, "What'd he find?"

He didn't look away from the view as he sensed his former teacher join him at his side, "He never stopped. His reach might be even farther than during the war."

"Shikaku said that?"

There was a slow exhale as Hiruzen huffed out another cloud of smoke, "He's found discrepancies in departmental budget requests and mining reports. The evidence is only suggestive at this point, but the timing of the records happens to be coincidental with dropping silver and diatomaceous earth prices."

Jiraiya furrowed his brow and glanced to his side, "And rising prices in water?"

Hiruzen nodded.

Jiraiya frowned, "He suspects Danzo is targeting Suna with the help of Ame?"

The Hokage shook his head, "It's all circumstantial. You should see the file he handed me. There's nothing concrete in anything, nothing that jumps out until you overlap events on top of one another, and even then…"

"So the budget discrepancies…?"

"Could be a simple accounting error. It's always less than a percent of the total budgets and never from the same department – or at the same time– "

"But it's too random," Jiraiya finished.

"Exactly."

Jiraiya turned back to look at the bustling rooftops and streets below, "Danzo may not have agreed with how the war was finished, but he's always acted in the interest of the village. Why would he want to risk our treaty with Suna?"

Hiruzen turned to face him completely. Leaning an elbow on the window sill, he answered, "That's where I was hoping you'd come in."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow in question.

"Either Danzo sees Suna as a threat or he wants to leverage something from Suna. I want to know which one it is."

Jiraiya nodded, "I'll talk to my informants."

"There's one other thing."

Jiraiya looked back at the Hokage, darting a quick glance at the clock as he did. He'd figured the kid would be late; in fact, he'd prepared for that by telling the kid to come an hour early. Next time, he'd be sure to tell the kid to come even earlier.

"Have you heard anything about a poison that freezes a person's system?"

Drawing his thoughts back to the conversation, Jiraiya sent Hiruzen a concerned look, "A new poison?"

Removing his pipe from his mouth, Sarutobi sighed, "A paralytic – a strange one at that."

A thought niggled at the back of Jiraiya's mind, "Are you sure it's a poison?"

Sarutobi frowned, "Not entirely, why?"

Jiraiya scratched his nose, "One of the kids near Kanroku mentioned medicine that could stop the effects of blood loss and general toxins. But he said that it wasn't very effective since the patient couldn't respond to the doctor either."

"Kanroku?"

Jiraiya shrugged, "Heard it from a friend of a friend."

Hiruzen sighed, "Could you put out feelers for Tsunade?"

Jiraiya spun around, "Tsunade?"

His old mentor gave him a small grin, "I just have a bad feeling about this. I'd feel better if we could get her input on the subject."

When had he last seen her? He returned the smile and nodded.

"How was it by the way?"

Jiraiya blinked, "It?"

A sudden smile broke across the Hokage's face, "The trip back of course. What'd you think of Kakashi and Gai? Do you think they're ready for their own teams?"

*

Kakashi sank down into the hot spring waters with a sigh of content that transitioned into bubbles as he submerged his whole face.

While he wasn't as fastidious about his cleanliness as some men that he knew, he did have a sensitive nose. He had his own limits – and spending another year near the swamps was one of them. He didn't know if he had ever been as relieved to see a shower. Part of him was a little surprised that he hadn't grown accustomed to the sulfuric smell of the marshland.

The day that Gai had dunked him head first into the black mud was the day that he'd shaved off the man's eyebrow – only one, since the man had claimed that he thought he was saving Kakashi from some sort of snake.

Surfacing quietly, he padded over to the bench and wrapped a towel around his waist. One of the good things about returning in the middle of the week during the day was the fact that he had most of the bathhouse to himself.

Slipping his mask on, he made his way into the changing rooms, where he quickly changed and headed out the door. Ducking under the banner at the entrance of the onsen, he straightened and paused as he found himself standing face to face with the Jounin Commander.

Had the man been waiting for him?

"Kakashi-san."

He blinked. Slipping a hand out from his pocket, he gave the man an idle wave in greeting, "Yo."

"Did you just return?"

Tucking his hand back in, he shrugged, "A few hours ago."

Shikaku nodded, "I'm sorry to bother you so soon then."

Reading between the lines, Kakashi fought the urge to deepen his customary slouch. He shrugged off the apology with one shoulder and moved away from the entrance of the onsen and walked off the trail. Jumping onto a nearby branch, he waited.

The moment Shikaku joined him, they took off towards an old jounin training ground.

Landing in a crouch, he lifted his head to look at the Nara, who raised an eyebrow.

With a sigh, he raised his headband and opened his sharingan. He surveyed the area silently before covering his eye and giving Shikaku a quick nod, "We're clear. What's this about?"

Shikaku regarded him silently for a moment before sitting down, "Have you become more comfortable using that eye?"

Kakashi shrugged and leaned against a nearby tree. At some point, it had actually become less exhausting to use the sharingan then to listen to Gai's challenges to use it. He suspected Jiraiya had a hand in his companion's sudden interest in helping him "improve" his training.

Shikaku looked away, "I need access to the autopsy records for the Uchiha."

Kakashi frowned, "You want me to request copies as a sharingan-holder myself?"

The Nara met his gaze unflinchingly, "Yes."

"Just the autopsy records?"

"For now."

Kakashi turned his head, his mind racing through the implications of what was being asked. He twisted his head back, "Why?"

"Do you really want to be involved?"

At those words, Kakashi took a closer look. The man's wrinkles had deepened, and the skin under his eyes was slightly darker than he remembered. Still, his gaze was steady.

Unsettled, Kakashi stared for another moment before pushing away from the tree, "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks." With a grunt, the Nara stood up and turned.

As he watched the man disappear into the underbrush, Kakashi thought over his decision. He'd made a promise to himself that past year, to try again. Convincing Jiraiya hadn't been too difficult either; he suspected that the old man had been making plans of his own.

He looked up at the pieces of the sky that were peeking back at him through the leaves. They were a shade lighter than his sensei's eyes.

He was certain that he'd developed enough social skills to divert suspicions by any party about his sensei's son. Now, all that was left was convincing the Hokage of that fact. He paused and looked down, scratching his head.

Come to think of it, he probably should join Jiraiya soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sakura on Team 7. She was so screwed I mean, she was placed with a jinchuriki and the last heir to a legendary doujutsu. Which parent, aware of the dangers, would allow their kid to be placed on such a team?
> 
> Oh, and happy Valentine's Day or whatever XD


	15. Farewells and Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there was a request to skip the actual genin test. I assumed the reviewer meant Team 7's test. In any case, for those who want the details of that test, it's posted [here](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9987254/6/Troublesome-Timing-Outtakes), but otherwise I mostly skimmed it- as in there's a bit more that when on than was actually stated.
> 
> Warning: There's a reference to suicide at the second to last scene in this chapter. It's fairly mild in my opinion, but I just wanted to put the trigger warning up.

He swallowed and barely managed to clench his fingers in time to prevent himself from dropping the keys. Still, the keys jangled.

"Mizuki?"

Hurriedly, he crumpled the slip of paper he'd retrieved from the ground and hid it behind his back as Tsubaki came into the hallway, "I'm home."

He pasted on a smile and walked forward into her arms, greeting her with a quick kiss to the forehead, before pulling away, "I'm sorry, I can't stay for long – some of the guys wanted to go over the team formations again."

As he walked toward the bathroom, he could hear the pout in her voice, "Again? Is this really necessary?"

Ducking into the bathroom, he closed the door, and threw the crumpled piece of paper in the toilet. Inserting a tone of resigned amusement into his voice, "There're a lot of clan heirs this year. People are nervous."

To forestall further conversation, he relieved himself, flushed, and washed his hands. Nevertheless, as he was checking his appearance in the mirror, her voice drifted in again, "It's just…"

He paused in the middle of combing back his hair with his fingers and let his arms hang down. Walking over to the closed door, he found himself placing a hand at the center of the wooden paneling. Eyes tracing a knot in the wood, he could hear his girlfriend breathing on the other side of the door.

"You've been so stressed lately."

He opened his mouth.

"I thought things were getting better, but this past year…"

 _Why'd she have to choose_ now _to talk about his?_ Closing his eyes, he stamped down his impatience and took a slow breath in, careful not to make a sound. As he exhaled, he opened his eyes. But before he could speak, he heard the shift of cloth outside the door.

"You know what, never mind. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Listen I – I'll see you tomorrow ok? I have patrol duty tonight. Just promise me you'll take some time to enjoy the new weather."

Guilt flooded him momentarily and he pressed his forehead into the wood, "Tsubaki, I-"

But again, he was interrupted. This time the voice came from a distance, "Love you!"

A door slammed and he was left with silence.

Clenching his fist, he snarled and made to punch the door, only to swing himself around at the last second so that he could slide down with his back against the door. He hit the back of his head against the door.

What had he done wrong?

Blinking rapidly, he tried desperately to stamp down the budding hysteria.

How could that bastard sannin expect  _him_  to steal the Scroll of Seals? Sure, he had a year, but it was  _the Scroll of Seals_. He let out a shaky breath.

*

**Age 12.**

"Well, it's been a pleasure."

Sasuke huffed impatiently, causing Noa to look even more awkward. The three of them stood at the main entrance to the compound, with Kazuki and Sasuke shoulder to shoulder, facing their now former caretaker.

Kazuki watched as Noa visibly resisted the urge to roll her eyes, biting her lip before forcing another smile on her lips, "It was an experience."

Before Kazuki could nudge his brother, Sasuke dipped his head in a light bow, just deep enough to be polite and responded flatly, "Thanks for your care. Bye."

With that, he spun around and walked off. Kazuki sagged.  _Seriously?_

Turning his attention back to Noa, he noted the reluctant smile on the girl's face as she watched Sasuke shuffle off. Raising his brows in surprise, he was caught off-guard when the girl turned her smile to him, "Kazuki."

"Ah?"

Now that she had his attention, she faltered, "I…"

Scratching the back of his head, he ducked his head quickly to look behind him. His brother was still sauntering off without even a backwards look.  _Asshat_. He didn't quite care for manners himself, but…

Uncomfortable, Kazuki looked back up at Noa. For all her flaws, he had to admit that she had done her best with all the best intentions in mind, "Look, I know we weren't the easiest to look after, but thanks for trying."

Seeing that she was visibly taken aback by his words, he hurriedly added with the intent of ending their conversation, "I'll see you around."

Dipping his head, he turned only to cringe as she called his name, "Kazuki."

Turning around slowly, he looked back up to see her looking at him with a serious expression.

"Just… be careful ok?"

He blinked.

"Don't be afraid to trust in your teacher – and teammates."

He gave her an uncertain nod.

"If things go well, which I'm sure they will, you'll be spending most of your days – and nights – with your team. It'll be difficult to conceal your secrets then. And I know you like to play down your smarts, but, well… I'm sure you've considered the dangers of them knowing, but have you thought about them not knowing?" She finally took a breath and seemed to realize that she'd sped up toward the end. Embarrassed, she tugged at her shirt, smoothing out unseen wrinkles, "I mean, everybody has secrets, but well some can be shared, alright? They might be able to help."

Kazuki furrowed his brows and gave her a quizzical look. From her demeanor, he didn't think that she knew about his "memories".

Seeing his confused look, she gave him the familiar flat impatient glare that she'd started to develop toward the end of her first year with them, "I know you have nightmares."

He looked to the side, somewhat relieved, "Ah." Still, she had a point.

Out of words now, Noa shifted from side to side, "Look, I have to go now and do… stuff."

Kazuki looked back and nodded, starting to turn himself.

"Just take care of yourself and Sasuke, alright?" With that said, she fled.

Somewhat nonplussed, Kazuki shook his head and made his way down the opposite end of the road at his usual pace, so he was slightly surprised that he caught up to Sasuke a few minutes later.

"What'd she want?"

Kazuki shrugged, "Say her goodbyes, I dunno."

Sasuke twisted his mouth to one side, dissatisfied, but suddenly spun away to his right, just in time to dodge an orange blur.

Naruto, who'd clearly been planning on interrupting the conversation with a flying kick, hurriedly whipped around and brought his arms in a cross to block Sasuke's return kick with a wide grin, "Morning, buttface."

Sasuke returned the greeting with a roundhouse kick, "Idiot."

Instead of trying to block that kick, Naruto instead grabbed it, which Sasuke then used to lever himself higher, aiming to kick Naruto with his other leg instead.

Accustomed to these antics, Kazuki gave them a wide berth and continued to trudge along the path by himself. They'd notice his absence sooner or later.

Sure enough, less than a minute later (which, given the girls' absence, had to be a new record), the two bounded back up the path, chasing each other with punches and kicks until they had effectively stopped his progress by circling around him as they continued to fight. Before either of them could pull out their more destructive techniques (and seriously, it sometimes seemed like there was a feedback loop between the two of them designed to amplify their creative abilities in mayhem), Kazuki sighed, "We're approaching the shops."

Naruto attempted one last punch, which was ducked, before sticking out his tongue.

Sasuke smirked, right before he was tackled by Ino.

_How did he not see that coming?_

Before his twin could shrug the blonde off, Sakura walked by and casually grabbed Ino's ponytail as she walked, "Morning guys."

Ino shrieked as she was pulled off balance before grabbing Sakura's wrist and attempting a throw.

Heaving another sigh as Naruto's pointed laugh was cut off by both Sasuke and Sakura, Kazuki scratched his head and looked up at the sky, which was sadly cloudless. A familiar sound of plastic wrinkling had him turning around in time to see Chouji walk up, "Hey Kazuki."

"Chouji."

Quirking a smile in amusement at the blatant relief in his friend's voice, Chouji offered the open bag of dried fruits to Kazuki.

With a smile, Kazuki snagged a piece, while watching Chouji take in the scene behind him.

"Wanna see how long it takes for them to notice we're gone?"

Chouji knew him too well. With a mischievous grin, Kazuki nodded, and the two of them inched away, darting off with a laugh once they were past the first set of shops and out of earshot of the quarreling foursome.

*

"… you all will be in groups of three, where you will complete missions under a Jounin-sensei."

Despite himself, Kazuki couldn't help but tense at Iruka's announcement. Quickly, he rested his head on one arm and sprawled out over the table top, avoiding Sasuke's gaze.

"We've arranged the groups such that overall abilities are equivalent, which I'll now announce."

He loved his brother- he really did. But he  _really_  didn't want to be on the same team as Sasuke  _and_  Naruto. Initially, when he had first considered the problem of team assignments, he had thought that it would bring him more peace of mind to be on the same team as those two. But, the more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that ignorance was the best peace of mind when it came to them.

Plus, they had Kakashi.

There were other reasons behind his reluctance to join Team 7, but the one that he knew he couldn't help weigh the most was his own yearning to see Team Ten again. With a start, he realized that he had been fingering his wooden shogi pendant.

Letting out a slow breath, he desperately hoped that Shikaku had been able to confirm his team placement.

"Next, group seven."

Clenching a fist over his pendant, he held his breath.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Behind him, he heard the blond boy sit up, quivering with visible excitement.

"Haruno Sakura."

In front of him, he spotted the girl in question straighten her back as well.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto released a loud cheer, while Sakura looked back with a triumphant smirk at Ino, who sat to his right. Predicting what was going to happen, he leaned towards Ino just in time to avoid getting grazed by Naruto's flying tackle into his twin.

"Gerroff, what are you doing?!"

Undeterred by the hand in the center of his face, Naruto screamed right into Sasuke's face, "WAHOOOO!"

Beside him, Ino muttered into her hand, "So unfair. Why does she get all the fun people?"

Ignoring the titters in the classroom and the scuffling that had broken out between Naruto and Sasuke, Iruka continued, "Next, the eighth group. Hyuuga Hinata. Inuzuka Kiba. Aburame Shino."

Just then, the door opened, causing half the room to turn around to see Mizuki entering the room. Kazuki watched as Mizuki mouth something about being late with an apologetic smile.

He turned his head to see Iruka shake his head before continuing with a louder voice, "Team Nine."

About to lay his head down, he started when he heard the next name.

"Yamanaka Ino."

Wait, what? Distantly, he was aware of Ino muttering to herself underneath her breath.

"Akimichi Chouji."

He didn't know what to think.

"Uchiha Kazuki."

Realizing that he'd been holding his breath, he let it out in relief and let his head fall straight to the table.

"Heey, don't look so disappointed!"

With a wince, he shrunk away from Ino's loud voice in his ear, "I wasn't-"

"I don't care what you say, but we're not going to lose to Sakura's team!"

He stared at her and blinked even as she turned around to point at Chouji in the back row behind her, "We're gonna win or I'll confiscate all your snacks!"

Chouji stared at her and clutched the bag of chips protectively, "Win what?"

"Win  _everything_. I don't care," she hissed back just as Iruka finished the list. With a triumphant air, she turned around and crossed her arms. Seeing Chouji's questioning look, Kazuki gave him a dumbfounded shrug, before turning around to face the front as well.

"Mizuki will be introducing the jounin senseis this afternoon. Disperse!"

*

"Once everyone's chosen, feel free to request additional information from Mizuki or Iruka. Kurenai, since you're new to our rosters this year, would you like first pick?"

Asuma met his father's eyes over the woman's shoulder for a brief moment before looking away.

_'It'll be up to you to pass the team. But I would like for you to choose them, as a favor to me.'_

What had that been about?

_'I'll explain more once the Commander returns. Of course, that might not be necessary if they don't pass your test.'_

Stepping forward, Kurenai replied, "Team Eight. As people have mentioned, I think I'd be the best match for the Hyuuga."

After pausing a moment to confirm that there were no dissenting opinions, the Hokage gave a short nod and gestured at Iruka, who stepped forwards to deliver the official documentation on her team and a copy of the registration forms that would be need to be filled regardless of whether her students would pass her test.

Receiving the scrolls with both hands, she delivered a short bow and returned back to the crowd of jounins that surrounded the hokage's table.

"Tekuno."

Asuma studied the cracks in the floorboard as the jounin that had been called made his request. As the process was repeated several more times, he noted that his father was calling the jounin that everyone knew were reluctant about taking on another team, and would undoubtedly choose to assess the student teams that the Academy instructors had tagged less likely to succeed.

As the last of those teams were selected, he raised his head and looked for the tell-tale mess of grey hair out of the corner of his eye. If he was correct, then the next name that his dad would call would be…

"Kakashi."

He hid a grin at the way the other jounin in the room shifted their weight. The first time Kakashi had been slotted for a team, the man had selected one of the tagged teams – which had been understandable, especially after the long away mission that the man had just returned from. (No one really counted Gai and the fact that  _he_  took on a team, because that man just couldn't be used as a standard for comparison).

Several months later, the traditional wave of new shinobi from neighboring villages looking to join Konoha's ranks meant Kakashi was once again called. The influx of foreign candidates always followed the public portion of the Chuunin Exams, attracted to Konoha's strength. The requisite security screenings also doubled as team placement assessments. They were generally known to be not as effective as the placements designed by Academy instructors, so nobody was  _too_  surprised when Kakashi failed the first team he'd been asked to assess.

However, the second team, drawn from the rare second wave of applicants, had seemed much more promising on paper. When they failed, people started looking at Kakashi's report more carefully.

While no one could argue with Kakashi's decision (because they weren't  _that_   _kind_  of a village and while mission-focused shinobi were appreciated, they could also be dangerous if they couldn't consider the spirit of the mission), few could also say that they themselves would have passed Kakashi's test when they had been starting out.

The man was an expert at applying psychological pressure.

Consequently, many had suspected that the man had designed the test so as to avoid taking on a new team. He imagined that the majority in the room had expected and hoped that the Hokage would essentially pigeonhole Kakashi into taking the team with the jinchuriki. That hope didn't exactly stem out of enmity towards the vessel, so much as the belief that the man would be the most qualified to determine when it would be necessary to eliminate a threat, before it arose.

Despite Kakashi's eccentricities, rumors of his ruthlessness during his time in the ANBU had never faded. Moreover, the man had made a legend out of himself while he had been away.

(Guiltily, and somewhat embarrassedly, Asuma had been relieved –and proud- to discover that the bounty on his head was still higher – at least as of a year ago.

It was all about the people you pissed off.)

Still, he suspected that his colleagues had no reason to be concerned. Because at the end of it all, Kakashi was nothing if not loyal.

"Team Seven."

And there was no way the man wasn't going to take the chance to speak with his former sensei's son.

As Kakashi stepped forward to receive the scroll, Asuma spotted the relieved demeanors of several faces in the room. As the man stepped back, Asuma found himself meeting his father's eyes again.

He knew what was coming next.

"Asuma."

He felt a brief spike of irritation as he stepped forward.

When he was younger, he'd chafed at his father's influence, if not control, over his life. There were so many unstated expectations that came with being the son of the Hokage that it always felt like he was stepping onto a minefield every time he left home. No choice of his was ever considered a matter of personal preference; there were always strings attached, implications that he could never seem to anticipate.

All of it made him want to explode.

And, he did.

He rebelled, fought, panicked, and fought again. He left the village and joined the Guardians. He found perspective and patience, and made friends out of enemies, and enemies out of friends. And he'd returned, pressed by the narrow success of foiling an assassination plot against his father and his friends' counsel, and found that his rebellion had unexpectedly given him more space to breathe upon his return.

He was the Hokage's recalcitrant son.

His father had seemed older than he'd expected, reminding him, unpleasantly, that he'd left not so soon after his mother's death. So he'd stayed – longer than he had initially intended. Reconciliation was slow, but not as difficult as he'd expected. Guilt and time had lent understanding to both sides. So when his father had made his request, he'd been taken aback.

It was only the fact that it had been a clear request, and not an order, that kept him from refusing out of principle. His old man had stated that there was a reason behind the request (and clearly it had something to do with the fact that they were blood related, because why else would his father have made the request to him?). And while he'd grown to understand many of his father's decisions, he still had disagreed with a good number of them. The only question was, would he agree with the reasoning behind this latest request.

Behind him, he heard the unsubtle shifting of cloth. Clearly, his peers were growing impatient. The Hokage stared patiently back.

He let out a soft sigh, "Team Nine."

He wasn't the most superstitious, but he couldn't help but frown at his team's number. Nine – homophone for bitterness and suffering and bad luck in general.

His father smiled.

Stepping forward, he received his scroll with both hands. Inadvertently, his eyes were drawn to the crystal ball on the table as he stepped back.

The globe was still cycling between scenes of the various students that were now breaking for lunch.

He blinked as he recognized a flash of his nephew's distinctive scarf before another set of students was shown.

Why was Konohamaru playing with Academy students?

*

"You don't hit kids!" Sakura ranted and ended her shout with a punch to Naruto's shoulder.

Yelping, Naruto backed away with a pout, ""Just cuz he's the old man's grandson-"

'He's a  _kid_ ," Sakura hissed.

Naruto crossed his arms and stubbornly replied, "He said he's training to be a ninja, and it's not like I actually hit him that hard. I'm not  _stoo-pid._ "

 _That's debatable_. Peering over his folded arms, Kazuki watched Naruto's continued efforts at defending himself. If the dork would just apologize and admit his wrongdoings, he'd avoid all of this trouble. That strategy had always worked with Ino.

Then again, that idiot never did know when to quit.

With a creeping smile as he noticed his brother's growing slouch, Kazuki supposed that bull-headed stubbornness was part of Naruto's charm.

He watched as Sasuke, shifting farther and farther away from his bickering teammates, turned around slowly to glare at him.

Even though Sasuke hadn't spoken, Kazuki could almost hear the complaint, 'Why am I placed with these two loudmouths?!'

Without lifting his head from where it was perched, Kazuki shrugged, somewhat glad that his arms were hiding his smile.  _You're just as bad as them,_ was what he wanted to say.

"We're going to get in trouble before we even meet our sensei!"

Slumping at his shrug, Sasuke turned around just in time as the classroom noticeably grew quiet as the door slid open to reveal Mizuki.

Biting his lip, Kazuki found himself once more holding his pendant through the fabric of his shirt.

Stepping to the center, between the two chalkboards, Mizuki waited until the room was silent. Uncharitably, Kazuki wondered at the stiffness of the instructor's smile when it was clear that the man was enjoying drawing out the suspense for the children.

Finally, the man spoke, "Alright, a few of your instructors will be arriving late." There was a shift in the shadows near the entranceway to the classroom and a few whispers broke out. Speaking over the noise, Mizuki continued, "In the meantime, if you hear your team number, please come up to the front of the room."

Just then, an older man wearing a flak jacket with blue chin guard stepped into the room. Whispers became audible voices, and the clamor in the classroom rose even as a second adult stepped into the room.

Unfazed, Mizuki spoke over the noise, "Teams two and six. Please step forward."

To everyone's disappointment, the students were simply directed to follow their assigned teacher by Mizuki's pointed hand and were led out of the room.

"Ahhh? That's it?" Ino whined and stretched her arms over the edge of her desk, resting her chin on the surface in disappointment.

The sentiment was repeated around them and chatter soon resumed in the classroom. Over the next hour, a few more adults trickled through the room with everything proceeding much as it had before. By the time their team name was announced, the noise level in the classroom didn't even dip.

"Team Nine."

Ino leapt up and stuck her tongue out at Sakura, "Hah! Take that!"

Sakura pulled a face in response, "Big deal." Still, her disgruntlement at their tardy sensei was fairly obvious.

As Ino finally began moving out into the aisle way toward the classroom steps, Kazuki forced himself to stand up as well and look down towards the front of the classroom.

For the briefest of moments, he wasn't sure if he was in a dream. Asuma, the stranger, looked just like he had dreamed. The man stood at the front of the room with Mizuki in a relaxed stance, scanning over the rest of the classroom as he talked – presumably for them, for his team.

Kazuki looked down, using his peripheral vision to maintain a step behind Ino, and studied the fabric of his long sleeves.

Dark blue.

He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting.

Shaking off his disorientation, he hopped off the final step and brought up the rear just as he felt Mizuki's hand press against his shoulder.

With a clipboard in his other hand, Mizuki ushered them forward, "Team Nine, this is your sensei. Please follow him out."

Asuma gave them a lazy waggle of the fingers before walking out the door. He caught the nervous look Chouji sent him right before Ino darted around and started pushing the both of them out the door, with one hand on each of their backs, "Let's go! We don't want to lose him."

There were a few close calls during their chase after him, with Ino darting full speed ahead. He purposefully slowed his pace, making sure that Chouji could still see him as he followed behind Ino. Roughly half an hour later, he skidded to a stop beside Ino in one of the training grounds west of the Academy.

Asuma stood at the center of the small clearing, clearly waiting with a lit cigarette, and made a gesture at a bench. They were moving to sit when Chouji came into view, gasping and coughing before making a beeline straight toward them.

As Chouji caught his breath, Asuma began, "I'm Sarutobi Asuma – in charge of team nine starting today. I'll be strict on you guys, so be prepared!"

Of course, the wind happened to change directions during the man's introduction, blowing his smoke straight into their faces. For Kazuki, the scent of it was jarringly familiar, bringing up memories that had never been, causing him to blink his eyes rapidly.

Beside him, Ino sniffed.

Despite his sudden mess of emotions, Kazuki almost smiled at the way Asuma leaned forward with a hesitant frown, "Don't start crying. All I said was that I'm going to be strict on you guys."

Ino protested, "The smoke's getting into our eyes!"

While that wasn't strictly true for him, because for some reason, he didn't find the smoke to be as much of an eye-irritant, Kazuki nodded alongside Chouji.

"Ah." Asuma grimaced and removed the cigarette from his mouth. He extinguished it with a quick wave of his hand and tucked it behind his ear, "Well, anyway, here's your first assignment." He removed his other hand from his vest pocket, and flicked a coin towards the three of them.

Kazuki reflexively reached out to catch it, and as his teammates leaned in to see what had been tossed, Asuma continued, "There are five hundred of these tokens hidden around the village. Collect them all and show them to Izumi-san at the fruit market for a prize. Bring the prize here tomorrow morning at eight."

Kazuki sagged, almost at the same time as Chouji, but unlike his friend, he was sagging in relief. It was just like last time.

Ino on the other hand sat up straighter, "Five hundred?! Through the  _whole_  village?"

Asuma chuckled with a nod, "Be careful. Some are hidden in some tricky areas."

Ino looked horrified as Chouji finally spoke, "Wh-what if we can't get the prize?"

Asuma gave them a shrug, "Then don't bother showing up tomorrow."

Kazuki narrowed his eyes, uneasy. Had Asuma acted this…indifferent before? He had been stern, but...

Ino frowned, "What do you mean?"

Asuma widened his eyes as he tilted his head to the side, "No one told you?"

Kazuki kept silent as he watched Ino question Asuma, "Told us what?"

"You've passed your Academy instructors' tests, but they're not the ones teaching you now. Maybe you all do qualify to become genin, but you'll have to prove it to me first. Consider it an entrance exam."

This time, Ino was quiet, but Kazuki could almost hear her simmering away beside him. He didn't envy Ino's dad in the slightest bit. The man was going to be in for an earful for not warning her.

When no one said anything, Asuma started to walk backwards, "Anyway, I'm sure you guys will do fine." As he turned, his eyes met Kazuki's, "Oh, and make sure to bring all five hundred tokens too."

With that said, their instructor turned around and sauntered off.

 _Dammit_.

Last time around, they'd gone straight to Izumi and tricked the man into giving them the prize, which they couldn't do this time around. He had no doubt that Asuma would be able to spot a counterfeit. Moreover, there was no guarantee that these tokens were completely identical.

Had he not looked concerned enough? Why had the man added that last requirement?

Five hundred tokens. Three teammates. Less than eighteen hours if they didn't sleep. Roughly seven minutes to find a coin if they split up the task.

He still remembered the surprise on the man's face when they had showed up the first time around, well-rested for their baseline assessments.

It was ridiculous to feel jealous of his other self. He sighed again, just as Ino finally poked him, hard, in the shoulder.

"Well?!"

He shrunk back with a yelp, "Ow, what was that for?"

"What's the plan?"

He blinked at her, before quickly darting a look at Chouji to see if he knew what she was talking about only to see his friend looking at him expectantly as well.

Arms akimbo, Ino stared at him intently, "Do you have a plan or not? How do you want to divide up the village? Do we wanna do check-ins? Don't you dare try to slack off; there's no way Sakura's team is going to beat us – you understand? "

He made a face and scratched his head, before shrugging. The test was undoubtedly about dedication and perseverance; no doubt the man had received the reports about their truancy records. Idly, he wondered what would be in store for his brother's team.

He stood up and stretched his back, before quickly ducking Ino's swipe as she lost her patience, "Alright, quit it! I got it."

Spinning around to face his teammates, he smirked.

They didn't have the seamless teamwork that they had in his memories just yet, but they did have years of playing mock battles with devious friends. While he couldn't allow himself or his team to slack off as much this time around, not with what he knew was coming, Asuma would still learn to never underestimate their combined talent for finding shortcuts.

"Let's head back to the Academy."

Ino shot up and lunged for him, "WHAT?! NO! We can't give up! Do you know what Sakura's going to say?"

Dancing out of her way, he started jogging back toward Chouji, who had shrugged and started walking the moment he heard Kazuki's suggestion. Raising both hands placatingly, Kazuki elaborated, "We're not giving up. It's barely been an hour. With any luck, Naruto will still be there. He never said we couldn't ask for help."

He slowed his pace to a walk as Ino stopped and widened her eyes, "His clones!" Smile widening, she tackled Kazuki in a hug, "You're a genius!"

She released him only to next pounce on Chouji, pushing his back with both hands as she started to run, "Let's go!"

When they finally careened around the last corner, Ino was the first to grab the door handle and slam the doors to the side, only to stare.

Naruto, who had leapt up with clear excitement when the door slammed open, was sitting back down in a sulk, "Oh… it's you guys."

Chouji ducked his head under Ino's arm, "Where is everyone?"

Sakura, with her head propped on a hand, grumbled, "Gone. We're the only ones left, even Mizuki left early."

Ino frowned, "Is this your test?"

This time, Sakura actually tilted her head to give Ino a suspicious glare, "What test?"

Ino dropped her arms from the door and entered the room with a whine, "There's another test that we have to pass to become genin."

Both Naruto and Sakura leapt up at the news, "WHAT?!"

Following idly behind Ino, Kazuki dropped into a seat next to Chouji on the instructors' desk, and watched as Ino ranted.

When she finished, Sasuke darted a glance at Kazuki, "So why are you guys here?"

Sakura gasped, "Did you guys fail?"

Hurriedly, before they could get anymore off topic, Kazuki stood, "No, actually, we were wondering if you guys would be willing to help."

Sakura blinked, "But even with our help, I don't think we'd find all five hundred before our sensei showed up. We could help afterwards, but…"

Kazuki nodded, "Right, but if Naruto makes his clones, we could post a few around the Academy-"

"-to alert us if we need to start heading back," Sasuke finished.

Naruto hopped to the front of the room, "ALRIGHT! Let's do it!"

Widening his eyes in alarm, Kazuki outstretched a hand, "Naruto, wait-"

Too late.

"KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

It almost sounded like a slight echo and in the next moment, the room was packed.

Lamely, he finished his shout in a sigh, "Not in the classroom."

As one, his clones brought their hands up and scratched the back of their heads in embarrassment, "Ehheh, sorry."

Still, looking around, Kazuki estimated that there were at least a hundred clones, which meant that Naruto had casted the technique seven times in under a second – or had Naruto already adapted it so that he could more than just one clone at a time?

There was a thump, and he looked up in time to see Sasuke jump on a table, "Let's get started."

*

**Two hours later.**

With a sigh, Kakashi dog-eared the page and closed the book. Tucking it away in his back pocket, he turned the corner. No doubt his students-to-be would be cranky by now.

At least he wasn't six hours late. Those parents hadn't been happy.

As he approached the classroom, he noted how the door was just slightly ajar. Would it be the classic chalk eraser prank? How unoriginal.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to indulge his children, especially considering what he had planned for them. He almost wanted to giggle. There were many differences between seasoned shinobi and shinobi just starting out. One of them was that seasoned shinobi  _knew_  when they were acting stupid and immature. Those just starting out usually didn't. It was always a treat to enlighten those innocent idiots – more or less anyway.

Placing one hand on the door, he glanced up again.

Huh, no board eraser.

With a mental shrug, he ducked his head into the room, only to see it empty.

He frowned, before sliding the door the rest of the way open.

No, their chakra signatures were present. Entering the room, there was a small groan. Hopping on to a table, he crouched and peered down. There, on the staircase, was his team and Asuma's team in a pile of limbs and slumbering faces.

It almost reminded him of his ninken.

From the ruffled and sweaty hair, it was clear that they were exhausted. What had they been doing?

He glanced around the room, warily, half expecting some sort of projectile to come flying out of the air, but nothing happened. To his right, however, stacked in small piles in the corner, were some very familiar looking coins. They looked just like some of the coins Asuma had asked him to hide during their lunch break.

He looked back down. Maybe he wouldn't be disappointed this time around?

He didn't care what anyone else said. He wasn't going to change his test. If his clusterfuck of a team had passed, then it wasn't impossible. His additions to the original test were minor.

"Guys." This time, what he had assumed was a sleepy groan was louder. He focused his eyes on the slightly chubby child that had spoken, half buried as a pillow for half of the kids there. The boy was eyeing him nervously as he attempted to poke the kids further from him with a stick.

"Guys," he hissed. This time, Sasuke who was sprawled on his brother jerked, but not before Naruto sprang up with a yelp at a particularly hard jab of the stick, "Wha-!"

*

Perched on the guard rail, Kakashi observed his three sleepy students.

He had been slightly surprised that he hadn't been assigned both Uchihas, but he supposed that would have made his team even more irresistible to attack. Still, with two above average students and the rookie of the year sitting before him, he wondered how their grades would be reflected in his test.

Leaning back, he affected an unamused tone, "Let's see, why don't you all introduce yourselves?"

The girl, at least, had seemed embarrassed at being caught asleep. The two boys, on the other hand, had only seemed to stare either blankly or crankily up at him before mumbling goodbyes to the other team in unison.

The girl’s embarrassment seemed to have faded however, she squinted at him and raised a sleepy hand, "My name's Haruno Sakura."

The blond flopped both hands up with loopy enthusiasm, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" He then cut himself off by yawning.

Next to him, the Uchiha peered up through his bangs in an owlish glare, "Uchiha Sasuke."

They were like toddlers who hadn't had their naptime.

How cute. Closing his eye, he grinned and baited, "Ahh? That's it? What about your likes, dislikes, - dreams?"

Sasuke, the grump, sent him another glare from behind folded hands, "We don't even know your name."

Ah, that was right wasn't it? Unable to resist, he pointed a finger at himself and widened his eye innocently.

The Uchiha's brows drew down even further, while the girl stared back unimpressed. The blond on the other hand was peering at him with disbelief.

Heh. This could be a fun team.

Looking skyward, he mumbled, "Me? Saaa." Sucking in a breath as if he was in deep thought, he looked back down, "I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no intention of telling you my likes and dislikes, and as for my dream…"

Did he have a dream? Hmm. He had a good feeling about this team. Ah, right, he hadn't finished his sentence.

With a shrug, he ended, "I have a few hobbies." With a satisfied nod to himself, he blinked at his students expectantly, "Your turn."

Clearly impatient now, the Uchiha rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Why don't you just tell us what the test is? It's not like-"

He watched with some amusement as the girl lunged across Naruto to slap a hand over Sasuke's mouth, before elbowing the blond none too subtly.

Wide eyed, Naruto scrambled to slap away her arm before staring at Kakashi, "Uh, I – oww! I mean, I like ramen, I hate waiting for it to cook, and I uh wannabeHOKAGE!"

Just then, Sasuke finally managed to shrug her off, but before he could talk, Sakura scrambled over Naruto and replied almost as quickly as her teammate, "I like birds, not pigs, my dream's to beat Ino-pig. Please don't give us a hard test."

Kakashi was torn between the urge to laugh and pout as he watched Sakura flush at her own hasty answer. The girl then turned to shoot Sasuke a pleading look followed by an indecipherable motion of the hand that made the boy grimace. Almost as if that was a cue, Naruto jumped in front of Sasuke, "He likes tomatoes and hates idiots. His dream's to be a big giant tomato-OWW!"

"Idiot." With a scowl, Sasuke yanked the back of Naruto's shirt, forcing the kid to sit back down on the steps.

Hmm, no doubt Asuma's kids had spoiled part of the surprise. This time, he didn't bother holding back a cackle. There was no way they had been told all the  _fun_  details.

The look on their faces was priceless.

Wait for it…

The girl broke first. With another wary look, she asked "What's so funny, sensei?"

Leaning just the slightest bit forward, he dipped his head slightly, "So, you've heard about the test?"

They nodded, almost as one.

"Well, did you know, that out of the 27 graduates, only nine are going to become genins? The other eighteen are sent back to the Academy."

Inserting as much glee into his voice as possible, Kakashi lowered his voice, "In other words, this test has a dropout rate of 66%."

Settling back, he waited for the inevitable freak out.

Instead however, he merely received another narrowed eye glare from Sasuke. The other two were looking back at the boy, almost as if for confirmation of his words.

They didn't believe him?

Finally, when the Uchiha did nothing, the two of them looked back at him with clear trepidation.

Well, that was less of a reaction that he had expected. Slightly putout, Kakashi continued, "Anyway, I'm going to determine whether you guys will pass at the east training grounds tomorrow. Bring your equipment and meet me at five AM."

Hopping off the rail, he gave them a final onceover, "Now then, meeting's over. Oh, and don't eat breakfast. You'll throw up if you do."

Feeling more satisfied at their horrified faces, he body flickered himself away with a gust of leaves.

*

Soggy cigarettes and the acrid taste of ash in the rain.

Kazuki sat up in a lurch, gasping and blinking for a moment before registering the familiar surroundings. Letting a groan as he realized it had been just a simple nightmare, a  _normal_  nightmare, he slapped a hand over his face and fell back onto his bed.

With his heartbeat just slowing down however, he had a strong suspicion that he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. The room was still dark, though he could manage to pick out most of the objects in his room. What time was it?

Rolling over, he checked the time and realized that he could hear the faucet running.

4:45.

Right, his brother had that test and so did he. With a sigh, he rolled over again to bury his face in the pillow and groaned, before finally rolling himself out of the bed. Dropping to the floor with a thud, he shamelessly whined at the impact before half-swimming and half-tugging himself out of his sheets.

Rubbing his eyes, he crawled over to his slippers before toeing them on and heading downstairs to prepare breakfast. If Sasuke was still in the bathroom, then he was probably running late.

He'd drowsily made three riceballs by the time he heard Sasuke come down the stairs. About to call out, he jumped at the sound of a familiar voice shout, "OY! SASUKE! I'M LEAVING!"

The door slammed.

He blinked at the entrance, just as he heard Sasuke curse before appearing in the doorway, "Sorry did he wake you?"

He shrugged, "Naruto spent the night?"

Sasuke rubbed his face, "Yeah, we were planning. Anyway, I should go."

Kazuki frowned, "You're not eating?"

Sasuke paused and looked back, "We were told not to."

At Kazuki's continued look, Sasuke elaborated, "Said we'd throw up."

Kazuki nodded and turned around with a simple order, "Wait."

Sasuke sighed, "I'm going to be late."

"How late was your sensei yesterday?"

Sasuke huffed.

Turning around, Kazuki tossed the haphazardly wrapped package, "Here."

At his brother's furrowed brows, Kazuki added, "Give some to your team."

Knowing those idiots, they probably hadn't eaten either.

"I just said – "

It was too early to deal with this. Turning around, he reached for a cup and retorted, "Eat it slow and maybe you'll throw up less, but at least you'll have energy for the test."

There was a brief silence, before he heard a mumbled "Thanks."

He waved a hand, brushing it off, before turning around with the cup and realizing that his brother was still there, "What?"

"Why are  _you_  up so early? Wasn't your meeting at eight?"

Kazuki shrugged and reached for the kettle.

"Did you have another nightmare?"

Rolling his eyes, Kazuki reminded him, "You're going to be late." There was an audible huff followed by footsteps.

"Good luck!"

Kazuki paused in the midst of staring blearily at his tea and shouted back, "Yeah, you too."

The door slammed.

With another sigh, Kazuki let his head drop to the dining table.

*

Sasuke sighed.

Kazuki had been right again.

After the first ten minutes, with everyone nodding off, they'd settled back to back, on the off chance of spotting their sensei's approach earlier. Soon, the discomfort of someone invading his personal space wasn't enough to keep him awake and he wasn't the only one. He'd taken out Kazuki's package and distributed among team with the hope that the act of chewing would keep them awake.

Despite eating slowly, so that the food would digest sooner and have a smaller chance of coming back up, they still finished without any sign of their instructor.

Now, the dew was dry and everyone was grumpily awake with the sun shining overhead.

Test or no test, if the man didn't show up in the next hour, he was going to convince his team to set up the worst sort of minefield anyone could experience.

If they were careful enough, maybe that'd be a convincing enough presentation of their skill.

*

"…and then he showed up with an excuse about crossing a black cat."

 _Black cat?_ There was the niggling inkling that something about the statement was important, but Kazuki couldn't pin it down. Letting it go, he passed the bowl of white rice to his left to Chouji.

Ino giggled helplessly at the look of affronted rage on Sakura's face, "So what happened next?" The two teams sat on the floor, crowded around stools that had been pushed together to form a makeshift table. They had stumbled into one another that afternoon, and after hearing that Naruto had invited himself and Sakura over to their place for a celebratory dinner, Ino had promptly done the same for her and Chouji.

Kazuki looked over to see Naruto bounce in his seat, "Oh, Sakura-chan came up with this  _awesome_  plan. I henge'd myself, and then Sasuke went and totally obliterated him, and we totally tricked him cuz I made all these bells, and he was so impressed that he like passed us!"

Chouji blinked, before reaching across with his chopsticks only to have his hand slapped down by Ino, "Not everyone's gotten their rice yet!"

As Chouji sighed, Ino turned around to face Naruto and said in her blandest voice, "Also, what?"

Conveniently, Sasuke chose that time to set down his tea and coughed, once. The cough sounded a lot like, "Idiot."

As Naruto turned with a suspicious squint, Sakura laughed, and waved a hand, "Kakashi was testing our teamwork. He told us that there were only two bells for the three of us and that we had to retrieve it from him or else we'd fail."

Ino frowned and interrupted, "Wait, two?"

Sakura smiled again, even as Naruto grumbled, "Our sensei's a bastard."

"So how'd you all pass?"

Before she could answer, Chouji, who'd been watching the rice bowl finally return back around to Sasuke, shouted, "Itedakimasu!"

Over Ino's groan, the rest of them chimed in and soon chopsticks were flying over their makeshift table.

Swallowing, Sakura explained, "We bluffed him. Naruto henge'd his clones into bells and asked Kakashi-sensei, which one was fake."

At the same time Ino asked, "That worked?" Kazuki probed, "Who held the fake one?"

Sakura gave an uneasy laugh as Sasuke replied, "They were all fake."

Naruto laughed as Ino gaped. Sasuke cut in with a smirk, "We changed the alarm for the test so that he gave the actual bells to prove that there was a difference between the actual bells and our fakes."

Speaking around a mouthful of rice, Kazuki questioned, "Before the actual time was up?"

Sasuke nodded.

Swallowing the rest of her food, Sakura set down her bowl and turned to Ino, "So what'd you guys do today?"

While the only sign of nervousness from Ino was the way that she clenched her fist under the table, Chouji was a little less surreptitious, and darted a look at Kazuki before burying his face back into his bowl.

Although no one commented as Ino leapt into her narration, Kazuki didn't miss Sasuke's slight frown. Quickly, he shrugged and reached out for the fried pork, "Yesterday's task was pretty much it, but he wanted to know what everyone could do."

Ino nudged him in the side, before leaning into the table conspiratorially, "You're missing the best part! You should have seen the look on his face when he realized that we finished the task in an hour."

Sakura arched a brow, "With our help."

Ino giggled and leaned closer, "He heard we had your help from your teacher, but he still didn't think that we'd get them all in an hour."

Sensing an opportunity, Naruto pointed an index finger at her, "That means I get a bowl of ramen, right?"

Ino stared blandly at him for a moment, and Kazuki could just see Naruto start to fidget when she broke in a mischievous smile, "Fine, one. Cause I'm generous like that."

Sakura snorted. But before Ino could glare at her, Naruto moaned, "Aaah, I should have asked for two bowls."

Nonchalantly, Sasuke reached out with his chopsticks and asked over the laughter, "He gave you more tests then?"

Kazuki cleaned his bowl, while nudging at Chouji with his knee. He'd need to teach his friend how to maintain more of a poker face. Setting the bowl down, he rested his chopsticks on the rim and replied, "Just asked for some demonstrations on the Academy basics and then whatever clan jutsus we might know."

At that, Ino shot him a glance that Sakura caught.

Letting his exasperation show, he rested an elbow on his knee and leaned forward, "Ok, so we're supposed to keep this a secret ok?"

He quickly shot Ino a look, meeting her wide eyes before shaking his head just the slightest bit.

She closed her mouth.

Meanwhile, the rest of the table had leaned in with curiosity.

"What secret?" Naruto demanded.

"Normally, jounin instructors are supposed to stick with teaching the teams they're assigned, so there's less chance of clan secrets leaking. But since Kakashi has the sharingan, there might be a chance that we'll share instructors. If Kakashi says anything, pretend you guys never knew about it."

As Naruto and Sakura nodded fervently, Sasuke frowned, "Kakashi has the sharingan?"

Gathering his dishes, Kazuki stood with a shrug, "Apparently. But I don't think there's a plan for him to train me anytime soon."

He was grateful as Ino did her best to divert attention away from him, "You can't tell people ok? Oh, and did I tell you how surprised Asuma was that Chouji could already do a clan technique?"

Curious as ever, Naruto perked up, "Really? What kind?"

Climbing over the furniture, Kazuki placed his dishes in the sink and headed to the back courtyard. Stepping into his outdoor slippers, he found himself wandering past the gate that led toward the Uchiha training ground.

He still remembered the astonishment in Asuma's eyes.

After they had explained and discussed the actions and decisions for the test from the day before, Asuma paired them up for sparring, occasionally flicking a genjutsu over their fights to test their resistance to the technique.

Following that, he'd ended the day with a request for either a verbal accounting or direct demonstration of clan techniques that they wanted him to know about.

Ino had gone first, followed by Chouji, and Asuma had seemed suitably impressed with both of them. Then it was his turn to go. He had stood with a glance at Chouji and explained that Yoshino may have taught him a few tricks that he'd appreciate if no one would tell.

Asuma's expression had been unreadable.

He'd consciously chosen to use Kage Nui to catch and return a flung kunai, because the technique was one of the more advanced forms of the shadow techniques, which he was certain that Asuma knew. Then, before the man could question him, he'd reiterated his request for secrecy and activated his sharingan.

Chouji had just shrugged, while Ino had shrieked in surprise – more because of the fact that his eyes were red, than the part about him having the sharingan.

Asuma had stared before slapping a hand over his face and grumbling something under his breath, too low to be understood. He then proceeded to relight his cigarette, much to the dismay of Kazuki's teammates.

Kazuki crouched down at the side of the path, and stared up at the sky.

He probably shouldn't wander off too far. No doubt, his friends would come looking for him if was gone for too long.

His instructor had recovered relatively quickly and muttered about knowing how he'd have to coordinate with Kakashi, but not this soon dammit.

Of course then he felt compelled to point out that he had already been trained – by his mother.

At this point, Asuma had asked how early he'd had the sharingan, and he didn't know why he hadn’t been surprised that Asuma would know about the conditions necessary to activate a sharingan, but he’d simply shrugged.

Technically, he didn't lie. He really wasn't sure when he'd activated his sharingan. Still, he wasn't about to tell Asuma that it had been sometime before he was four.

Asuma had given him another considering look before agreeing to keep it quiet.

With a sigh, he ambled back up the path. He hoped he hadn't made the wrong decision, but he didn't want his team making bad choices simply because he hadn't told them of all that he could do – almost everything anyway.

He stared at the gate and sighed when he noticed a shadow flicker from inside the gate. Narrowing his eyes, he darted forward in time to see a somewhat familiar black cat streak across his path and over the fence.

He frowned. It'd been awhile since he'd seen any cats around the property. In fact, the last time he'd seen the cat was after he'd been released from the hospital.

He stared absently at where the cat had climbed over the fence.

The sense that he was missing something was pressing frustratingly at him, but he just couldn't seem to grasp it. Maybe it was time to pay a visit to Neko-baa. Perhaps that old woman would have some insight.

*

He needed to leave. With the last set of students graduating, his request for another position would hopefully buy him some time.

Picking up the pace, Mizuki dropped down from the rooftop and slid down a drainage pipe to Tsubaki's apartment.

He'd honestly tried every trick and deception under his belt, but all his test runs had been foiled – some of them even by that vile grandson Konoha-something-or-the-other. He shouldn't have waited for so long before attempting to steal the scroll. But still, Orochimaru had never really set a hard deadline, at least not one passed on by Tori.

Turning the corner, he noted the open window and felt a sudden spark of irritation beneath his growing impatience. Diving through the narrow crack, he made a note to himself to remind Tsubaki _again_  of how security seals were futile if she was just going to leave the windows open for just anyone to-

 _Copper_.

As soon as that thought registered, he pressed himself against the cabinets. The stink of copper was heavy in the apartment, which was silent aside from the sound of a leaky faucet. Swallowing his dread, he drew a kunai and eyed the entrance to the kitchen.

Heart thudding in his ears, he whipped around the corner, kunai in hand to find the hallway empty.

The bedroom light was on, flooding into the corridor in a fan of soft yellow light. He edged closer and noted the scent of plums.

Tsubaki didn't use any plum-scented soaps.

It was too silent.

If someone were to attack, they would have attacked by now. Moving faster, with dread at the back of his throat, he strode into the bedroom and stopped. She was too white.

 _Tsubaki_.

.

He wasn't sure how long he stared before falling to his knees at her side and reaching out with unsteady hands to close sightless eyes. Slowly, he lifted the pale wrist that hung loosely over the edge of the bed and tucked it back under the covers.

Distantly, he noted the broken skin that had been beneath his fingertips. There had been a long cut that ran straight down the length of her arm. From the weight of the covers, he suspected her other arm bore a mirroring cut.

He buried his face into the sheets at her side and trembled silently for a moment, when he heard the crinkling of paper. Lifting the covers, he found the note.

**Poison's more my taste, but I'm reluctant to leave my signature so soon.**

**After all, you never presented me with the scroll.**

**Don't fret like Tori, but if you insist, I have an autograph ready as well.**

**The choice is yours. Cycle with the moon.**

The paper crumpled in his hand as he clenched his fingers tighter. He wanted to scream, but the howl caught in his throat.

"This really isn't my style."

Snarling, Mizuki whipped around and flung a kunai that missed by a full meter.

Next to the desk, holding another slip of paper was Orochimaru. The man wasn't even looking at him.

"'I'm sorry, but I can't take it anymore?'" Orochimaru scoffed and carelessly let the paper slide back onto the desk.

Mizuki twitched as the sound of a window slamming echoed from beyond the doorway. Who else was here? He already stood no chance.

In between breaths, a laugh burbled up.

He had no chance.

But that didn't mean the monster could just stand there.

With a shout, he drew a handful of shuriken and hurled them as he stepped forward into a charge – or at least that was what he meant to do.

Instead, his arm became limp mid-throw and as he stepped, his leg crumpled from underneath him, sending him sprawling to the ground. He managed to twist himself so that he landed on his side, but that was all he managed.

What was this?

He gasped, "How…?"

What did it matter? Rage had long overcome his fear, and he knew that grief had completely muddled his faculties.

Heh. He didn't realize he'd even cared for her that much. Maybe it was the principle of the matter.

He forced himself to swallow, to wet his lip, and croak, "Why? I did everything you asked!"

Orochimaru stepped closer and Mizuki fought to keep his gaze up and meet that yellow gaze. The Sannin hadn't even bothered to lift a finger. A hysterical giggle escaped him and he blinked away the tears that obscured his vision with frustration.

He'd been a pawn. No, less than a pawn.

Despite Mizuki's efforts, his lids were becoming too heavy to maintain eye contact. With each blink, he had been less and less able to lift his gaze upwards. Soon, he stared absently at the floor directly before him.

The scent of plums grew stronger as the sannin crouched down and leaned forward – studying him with visibly detached curiosity, like he was an unusual specimen pinned up on the wall for casual perusal.

Fear had long been extinguished. Fear would have meant that he still had some hope of escaping. No, all that was left was the urge to tear into that face, to make those eyes blink just once in surprise… to be something more than  _useless_.

"Danzo underestimated you, didn't he?"

_Danzo?_

All he could manage was a low grunt.

"Or had he overestimated you?"

Whatever the sannin saw in his face made the man move away with a scoff, "You had no clue." He the sandaled feet pivot; the man was looking at the bed, at Tsubaki.

"What use would I have for staging a  _suicide_?"

It felt like someone had seized control of his lungs, pulling on his diaphragm in steady tugs such that he couldn't even speed up his breathing.

What was this? Did the man love mind games that much? He didn't even merit a straight answer?

A low creak in the floorboards had those sandals to pivot again.

Another voice spoke, "All traces of Tori have been removed."

This time he managed a low whine, much to his frustrated embarrassment.

The same new voice spoke again, "Oh? Is this our Mizuki-sensei?"

He hated the playfulness in both voices.

Orochimaru hummed, "So it would seem."

A new set of feet crossed his vision and he heard the sound of paper being lifted, "Did he actually fall for this?"

There was a brief silence, before the same voice released a short laugh of understanding.

This time, the foot stepped towards him and a light kick to his shoulder turned his body over, lifting the angle of his sight just slightly.

Now in view, Orochimaru smirked down at him, "I'm just returning a favor, you see. Tori was my agent, which Danzo seems to have not understood. I figured, if Danzo expected me to share, then it'd only be fair for me to play in his playground of plans."

The sannin then lifted his gaze and quirked an eyebrow. Whatever he saw had him shaking his head and smiling before spinning around and leaving.

He heard footsteps approach his body and then the sound of cloth shifting. Someone was crouching directly over him, just out of view, "Out of curiosity, how did you think Orochimaru-sama would benefit from you handicapping Academy students? And did you really believe that he doesn't already know the techniques in the Forbidden Scroll?"  _Let alone believe that you of all people could successfully steal it?_

The voice was saturated with condescension.

"Saa, you can't answer anyway. How foolish of me."

He felt a hand pat him on the chest, "Well, no worries. We've alerted the authorities. You won't be lonely for too long."

Finally he saw the foot enter his view as the speaker stepped over his body and moved toward the door. As the man moved down the hall, and the back of his full profile came into view, Mizuki realized that the second intruder was most likely still a teenager. However in the fading light of the hallway that contrasted sharply with the light in the bedroom, he couldn't distinguish more beyond that.

He didn't understand.

*

"… sample of the new paralytic was sent to the labs."

Danzo frowned.

So they thought Mizuki had stumbled into a botched murder attempt? It would be inconvenient to toss that plan aside. Unveiling the fumbling chuunin's background and the ease with which he had entered the Academy and crippled the children's education would have made it much easier to suggest new revisions to the current curriculum. Still, it wouldn't be a huge loss. Moreover, he had more pressing concerns to address.

Lifting his hood, Danzo twisted to face his subordinate, "Good. Have we identified the person making the illegal copies?"

The brief hesitation made Danzo turn his body fully around to glare down at the crouched body.

At the movement, the crouched figure ducked his head deeper, "Yes. It's the Jounin Commander.

…Nara Shikaku."

So his suspicions were right. This was unfortunate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grades & Teams: It just seemed to make the most sense to keep things the same. As a former teaching assistant/TA, one of my roles was to help determine team assignments, and we definitely did not rely solely on grades. We had a personal stake since the students in the class were also our classmates in other classes. If these teams had issues with their projects, we'd also have to deal with the fallout or drama, so we wanted everyone to succeed and that meant factoring in their working styles, personalities, rumored conflicts, learning styles, and academic background. I feel like the Academy instructors would do the same, and stating grades as the reason why would be the easiest way to avoid being accused of bias (since everything else does involve some sort of personal 'judgement' on the part of the instructors). (One thing I never got about fics that had teachers sabotage Naruto, is that these teachers would only have to continue dealing with the boy if he failed. If he passed and was ill-equipped, then he'd die all the more faster...right?)  
> Team 9/10: I struggled with this decision for a while, especially after Bonnie pointed out how much sentiment is attached with the name Team Ten. I realize my decision may not be popular, but keeping it the same just felt 'wrong', and while the name change also seemed 'wrong', I think the dissonance of the name change works better for the story (i.e. for representing the glaring absence of a Nara in the 'traditional' alliance of Yamanakas, Sarutobis, and Akimichis - and also the closer grouping of the rookies. kinda.) X/.  
> Genin Graduation: In my head canon, given that the chuunin exams are every half year, I figure that the genin exams also occur every half year, but staggered. Kakashi was originally slotted to return a year before he did, but the transitions worked better if he returned the winter before Kazuki's graduation. So yes, he probably failed less teams than he had in canon.  
> Mizuki. Based on manga and wiki notes, there were 3 teachers for 90 students until Mizuki joined Iruka's class. Considering the suspicion Mizuki was under, it seems strange for him to have joined the class full of clan heirs. I couldn't figure out why Shika would know about the whole Mizuki incident based on the reactions in the anime/manga. I also needed some more elements for two other arcs. Coupled with the reviews and my own interest in seeing something different from canon… you guys got this.  
> Kakashi's reaction to Team 7: Re-watching that scene, it reminded me a little of how seniors react to freshmen in both college and high school. One of the common complaints seemed to be that the younger kids were immature brats who thought they knew it all, so that was my main inspiration.
> 
> Questions:  
> Episode Recs. Are there any filler episodes that take place before the Chuunin exams that you think I should now about? Anyone know which episodes Konohamaru and Shikamaru have interacted in?  
> Chuunin Exam Requests. I'm revising my original outlines for the Chuunin exams – are there any matches in particular people would like to see?  
> Haku's rabbit. Was there ever an explanation for where Haku got the rabbit from?


	16. Liars and Dreamers and Harlequin Giggles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Recap:**  
>  During the massacre, Kazuki dropped a drug that Kabuto discovers, modifies, and tests on Itachi (who notifies Hiruzen) and, most recently, Mizuki.
> 
> Conversing with Itachi following the massacre, Hiruzen realizes Danzo's interference was larger than expected and asks Shikaku to investigate the extent of the councilman's influence under the pretense of searching for Danzo's potential successor. Discrepancies in the final report of the massacre had led Shikaku to Kazuki, who confides some 'future' knowledge and the suspicion of Danzo's involvement in the massacre. Despite precautions, Danzo becomes aware of Shikaku's investigations.
> 
> Irritated by Hiruzen's reprimands and education reforms following the massacre, Danzou attempts to damage the Hokage's reputation through sabotaging the Academy; uncovering Tori's loyalty to Orochimaru, Danzo coerces the man to blackmail Mizuki under Orochimaru's name. Because Mizuki hadn't revealed himself as a crap teacher through the theft of the Forbidden Scroll, Danzou attempts to apply further pressure by killing Tori and Mizuki's girlfriend. Annoyed at the loss of Tori, Orochimaru interferes, and reveals that Mizuki had only ever worked for Danzo. (…and yes, Naruto doesn't know about Kyuubi).

"We’ve finished the grade reports; everything’s done and the others are fine with you taking a few weeks, so just … focus on yourself, okay?"

Hisomeru Mizuki remained silent as he stared at the droplet-speckled window. He pretended to miss Iruka's aborted reach for his shoulder in the window's reflection.

 _Focus on himself?_ Was that the best Iruka could come up with?

He'd been found nonresponsive next to Tsubaki's dead body, and though he'd long since judged much of Konoha's personnel to be incompetent, there was no way they could have mistaken his fugue state for natural shock.

No doubt his story had already been brought into question. Why would the kunoichi’s boyfriend be poisoned at the scene of a suicide? An investigation into Tsubaki’s death and his own background was most likely already underway. No doubt they’d already discovered Tori’s death. With that man as his sponsor and the suspicious circumstances surrounding his own incapacitated state, it was unlikely that connections were already being drawn between his case and Tori’s.

The only question left was whether or not they knew about Danzo.

He curled the fingers of his left hand into a fist and watched as the puddles dotting the concrete walkway shuddered at the sky's tantrum.

"It's... ok to cry, Mizuki."

He resisted the urge to clench his jaw, to laugh and snarl and roll his eyes. Instead, he released a short breath, "That's not exactly what we teach, is it."

He shifted his gaze back from the landscape to Iruka's reflection. The man was frowning at his flat tone, wearing his thoughts on his face like always.

He swallowed with difficulty. How was it that this... clumsy… _fool_ of a shinobi was standing untouched behind him?

"Maybe we should change that."

Such a quiet voice. As if that could mask the sickeningly preaching attitude. As if that could change the fact that for all of his pride in his own skills in artifice, _he'd_ been the one who had been played for a fool and left to drool on the floor as something to pity.

He watched a small droplet land just the slightest bit too close to a larger droplet on the window. Its edges quivered before being engulfed by the larger droplet. Now, much too heavy to hold its previous position, the water droplet slid down, crashing into other droplets and making its way down the window with ever increasing speed.

Iruka coughed.

Mizuki let out a louder, more forceful sigh. Why couldn’t the man take a hint? Closing his eyes, he forced himself to relax his hands.

There was a light shuffle of steps as Iruka, _finally_ , retreated, “If you want to talk, I’m always available. Anytime.”

Mizuki exhaled slowly through his nose. At the sound of the door sliding open, he opened his eyes and tilted his head to the side, “Iruka.”

The footsteps stopped.

There was no sense in pointlessly alienating allies.

He tilted his head further back and drew the corners of his lips back as he met his former teammate’s concerned wide-eyed gaze, “Thank you.”

He held his smile in place as he watched one bloom in response on Iruka’s face.

“Not at all.”

He held still as Iruka openly gave him another once-over. Though Iruka’s brows were once again drawn in with a familiar fretful nature, by the lowered slant of the chuunin’s shoulders, his attempt at reassurance had been successful.

Now if everything else could be as simple.

He widened his smile, and as he predicted, Iruka mirrored his smile. The instructor gave him a quick nod before sliding the door shut.

Mizuki felt his cheek muscles twitch and tremble. A breathless laugh escaped him as he spun around to lean his weight against the windowpane. Staring at his silhouette he couldn’t help but shake with laughter and rage at the irony of his situation.

Because hadn’t he rushed forward, bitter and enraged at how often he’d been passed by? Infuriated at how his work was always trivialized?

He slid down, exulting in the sounds of skin shrieking against glass.

He’d rushed forward, secretly delighted that the very sin of overlooking him would soon work in his favor, only to discover that he’d been a puppet all along – set to dance in predicted patterns and already forgotten.

Perhaps what burned the most, possibly even more than Tsubaki’s death, was the fact that he would have been a happy puppet, ignorant of the strings, if Orochimaru’s capricious nature hadn’t struck – if Orochimaru’s _lackey_ hadn’t elaborated. 

Well, if the councilman wanted him to misbehave, he would just have to oblige the esteemed elder, wouldn’t he?

*

Shikaku waited until the door closed behind him before speaking, “The poison in Hisomeru’s blood matched Jiraiya’s sample.”

Hiruzen exhaled a stream of smoke and set his pipe on his desk, “And his sponsor, Hitsuno Tori, has been confirmed to have worked for Orochimaru?”

“It appears so.”

Hiruzen paused, in the middle of lifting his pipe. But instead of commenting on the Jounin Commander’s word choice, the elder simply resumed taking another long draw.

The sloppiness in the staging of Yuuko Tsubaki’s suicide seemed atypical of Orochimaru. Together with the sponsor being poisoned by Orochimaru’s signature poison from the Third Shinobi World War, it was as if Orochimaru wanted them to know of his machinations, that his reach extended to the village’s most treasured children.

The situation seemed unnecessarily complicated, but then again every single one of the hokage’s students had been known to be impulsive, and Orochimaru was definitely the worst when it came to dealing with his ennui. 

“Ibiki thinks Mizuki was being coerced by Orochimaru.”

Shikaku tilted his head forward, but maintained eye contact with the hokage and waited.

Clasping his hands together, Hiruzen rested both elbows on his desk and leaned forward, “He also reported that you requested a stay on pulling Hisomeru for interrogation.”

Although the hokage’s expression remained as neutral as when Shikaku had entered the room, Shikaku couldn’t help but feel as if the man was waiting for something. He waited for an actual question to be stated, but when the village leader remained silent, he replied, “Yes.”

A man of the Sandaime’s age had to know what he was attempting. Perhaps the elderly man was waiting for Shikaku could confide in him, to tell him about the independent investigation into the massacre of an entire clan in addition to the sanctioned inquiry into the esteemed councilman. 

But if Kazuki’s suspicions were true, then the hokage would also know why Shikaku would never confide the entirety of his investigations, unless ordered – and of course that order would never come.

Plausible deniability was _such_ a hassle from the other side.

Finally, the silence was broken by the hokage standing up, “You plan to accept his story and feed him false intel?”

Turning to face Hiruzen as he walked around his desk, Shikaku bowed his head again and answered, “Yes. This should help our plans for preoccupying Orochimaru.”

“Jiraiya said that it was your suggestion to send a genin team to retrieve Tsunade.”

Shikaku kept his stance relaxed as he absently wondered if this was the day the hokage would confront him about the interest he’d taken in the younger of the Uchiha twins. He’d kept his association with Kazuki out of the public’s eye, but his efforts weren’t so extensive that he could be accused of purposefully trying to conceal his activities from other shinobi.

He met Hiruzen’s eyes, “Noone could say that she hasn’t been missed.”

A flicker of a wry smile twisted the old man’s lips up, “ **If** they succeed, her analysis of the poison would be appreciated, but I’m more concerned with your choice of teams.”

Shikaku raised an eyebrow, “All three would be out of the village.”

Letting out a breath, he instead, strode over to look out the window, “What you discovered, the missing bodies of the Uchiha and what Danzo…”

At this unexpected display of uncertainty, Shikaku frowned, “Do you want to withdraw our plans?”

Shikaku felt dread rise as the hokage remained silent. Just as he parted his lips, the old man shook his head.

“No. No, I- this must be done. I’ll notify the jounin today; they’ll leave tomorrow.”

At those words, Shikaku released the breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding and felt a moment of sympathy for his hokage. He couldn’t imagine the emotional challenges behind plotting the assassination of a former teammate.

Hiruzen turned around, “No villager should be safer outside their own village. Have you chosen the jounin that will accompany the respective teams?”

“Yes, but with the upcoming Chuunin Exams, aberrant jounin assignments may be more noticeable.”

Hiruzen nodded, “Do you need anything else?”

Shikaku shook his head and for a moment the room was silent. Finally Hiruzen gave him one last nod, before turning to face the window. As he left, he couldn’t help but think that the shadows beneath the hokage’s eyes were grew longer and darker with every passing day.

Then again, it wasn’t like the shadows under his eyes were getting any fainter.

*

“Every object has a shadow.”

He opened his eyes and peered against the sun through his fingers. Closing his eyes, he rolled onto his side and buried his face into the side of his mother’s leg as she continued, “But only if there’s light.”

He remained silent, reveling in the feel of the breeze combing haphazardly through his hair and tugging playfully at his clothes.

“…Shikamaru, are you listening?”

Content, under the warmth of the sun, he nodded into soft cotton. This moment of calm was rare, he knew, and wouldn’t come again.

She laughed, bemused.

He ducked his head further, feeling blades of grass tickle his cheek as fingers brushed through his hair. She continued, “Weren’t you the one who requested these lessons?”

Unashamedly, he gave a soft protesting whine.

She let out a breath of amusement, pulling lightly at his hair in admonishment. He could almost see her smile beneath his eyelids and sighed contentedly.

“You know, Itachi didn’t master his sharingan until he was a chuunin. What are you pushing yourself for?”

Itachi?

The weight of the sun’s warmth, the scent of damp grass, and the steady strokes through his hair – this was _right_ , wasn’t it?

Tossing his unease aside, he burrowed his doubts deeper. Whatever it was, it could wait.

Her hand stopped, “Shikamaru?”

He scrunched his eyes tighter together as something stilled beneath his sternum. _Don’t say my name._

“Shikamaru...?”

_Not that name._

Another quiet laugh. “Fine. Keep your secrets for now. But like I said, every object has a shadow – and every _shadow_ has an object. Now what’s the caveat?”

When had the warmth of the sun disappeared? He frowned, “Light.”

The stroking continued, “Right, there has to be light. The brighter the light, the sharper the shadows. The sharper the shadows, the clearer the object.”

The clearer the object, the sharper your sight. The sharper your sight, the more details you see –

His lips moved almost of their own volition, “…the more you control.” It was all about visualization.

“Exactly.” The pressure on his head moved down to rest between his shoulder blades.

“Shikamaru?”

“Hmm?”

The weight of her hand shifted to his shoulder, “Watch out for your brothers?”

Opening his eyes, he tried to lean back, but the hand kept him in place.

“Don’t be too ambitious; keep an eye out for our family, alright?”

The fingers spread and pressed down around his shoulder, “Because the one thing you can count on, should be family, right?” By now the hold was almost painful, “Shikamaru?”

At his name – _not his name_ – , Shikamaru flung a hand up and out, dislodging the hand from his shoulder and pushed himself back into a low crouch.

_Mother?_

But instead of Yoshino, it was Mikoto looking at him with a gentle smile on unnaturally red lips. The breeze was gone, but strands of her hair still danced across her face. She lowered her head briefly, as if she were ducking her head in gratitude– _for her request?_

She looked back up at him and widened her smile.

Breath quickening, he took a step back, stopping, when his vision seemed to warp. Suddenly, he was the one looking down.

He tensed as she parted her lips, “Blood will always tell.”

“Kazuki.”

Kazuki opened his eyes and took in a sharp breath.

“Kazuki.”

Closing his eyes for a moment, he took in another breath before pushing himself up. He rubbed his eyes briefly, before looking up to see his twin standing at the foot of his bed, leaning against the side of the doorway.

His brother’s face was mostly in shadow due to the light in the hallway, but the concerned wrinkle between his brows was still clearly evident, “Nightmare?”

Was it a nightmare?

Kazuki considered feigning ignorance, but the effort that would be required seemed beyond him. Pulling his legs up to his chest, he hugged his knees and dropped his head on his arms, “Yeah.” He realized that his breathing was a little too controlled for Sasuke to leave, but instead of his usual barrage of inquiries, Sasuke changed the subject, “When do you guys leave?”

Startled, Kazuki lifted his head.

Shikaku had dropped enough hints for him to know that the man was concerned about the safety of sharingan users within Konoha, and that the mission his team had been assigned was likely linked to those concerns. It wouldn’t surprise him if Sasuke’s mission out of the village was similarly linked.

Maybe it was the dream or maybe it was the hour, but it was only then that he realized that this would be perhaps the first time that he and Sasuke would be so physically apart.

_…look out for our family…_

He could still feel where the heel of her palm had pressed against his shoulder blade – almost directly over his scar.

Realizing that he hadn’t answered, he groaned and dropped his head back into his arms, “Sunrise. You?”

“Same.”

 “So noon.”

Sasuke let out a breath of a laugh, “Probably.”

Knowing that he wasn’t going to fall back asleep anytime soon, Kazuki flipped back the covers and rolled off the bed. Plodding over to his chair, where he’d thrown his clothes, he was tugging off his shirt when Sasuke spoke again, “You’ve been staying pretty late at the Nara’s.”

He supposed it had been too much to hope that Naruto would be a sufficient distraction. Like it or not, Shikaku was his main source of information as well as reassurance that he _was_ doing something _right_. But with each passing week and every completed mission, came the more and more pressing awareness of the looming Chuunin Exams and everything they represented – more specifically, everything that he had held back from Shikaku.

From what he recalled from his dreams, both Naruto and Sakura had been adamant that Sasuke only defected because of Orochimaru. And while he knew both assessments were biased, it wasn’t too difficult to read between the lines of their stories to know that Kakashi had also held out hope for Sasuke.

There was also the fact that, this time around, Sasuke was family. He was a fussy overprotective brother with an inconvenient tendency to fixate, whose buttons Kazuki was much too familiar with for him to ever be that selfishly stoic avenger from what had never been.

There was no point in distracting Shikaku with the potential of Sasuke’s defection (or the threat his twin could become against Konoha) – especially not if there was a chance Itachi could return.

And maybe that (desperate) hope was the reason he had that discomfiting dream. Maybe, it was time to shift his priorities.

Tossing the shirt onto the bed, he turned to his desk and shrugged noncommittally, “Still tweaking Yoshino-san’s leg.” He picked up his roll of bandages and closed his drawer. Collecting himself, he turned around to face his twin.

Sasuke stared back, but there was a hint of uncertainty and frustration in his face by the way he sucked his cheeks. He wasn’t buying it.

Stalling, Kazuki switched pants and began binding his ankles. Whatever Shikaku was planning was coming to a head. From the comments the man had made, he half expected, half hoped that the threat posed by Orochimaru and Danzo would be resolved, if not stalled. But perhaps it was past time to admit that he had been avoiding the issue of making contingency plans of his own.

Without sufficient evidence and with the hokage under threat, there would be no way to secure a protective detail for his brother – at least not one that could stand up to the attentions of a sannin. Moreover, such a protective detail couldn’t last indefinitely.

If Shikaku’s plan failed, if his… mentor was out of the picture, then it looked like entering the Exams would be the best plan for shielding his brother from the attentions of Orochimaru, which meant a thousand more things –

things that would involve Sasuke remaining unsurprised by his skills.

Tying off the end of the bandage, Kazuki dropped his foot from the chair and stood, “Yoshino caught me trying some of their clan techniques last month.”

Sasuke straightened.

Looking to his left, Kazuki fished out his headband from under his clothes and continued, “Apparently, they’re secret techniques for safety reasons, so she’s insisted on formal training.”

Occupying himself with tying the headband onto his left arm, Kazuki watched Sasuke from the corner of his eye.

“Safety reasons?”

Kazuki straightened and purposefully gave Sasuke his widest smile, “I could have lost my mind?”

“KAZUKI!”

Buttons. His brother made it too easy.

*

Uchiha Itachi.

He wasn’t anything like she had expected.

Konan stepped to the side, allowing two boys to dart pass. The day was still early; only vendors and beggars were out. Merchants were still setting up their wares, deftly avoiding the puddles that lined the street with long practice.

Murderous, yet polite, the boy had been eerily efficient for his age. She hadn’t missed how Kisame’s indulgent amusement had transformed into curious respect in under a month, nor how Itachi had shown no signs of injury – especially between the time Orochimaru had last appeared for a gathering and when the man had deserted.

Everyone knew the sannin had been interested in the Uchiha.

And despite the occasional ‘breaks’ in composure, when his bloodlust shown through, Konan couldn’t help but suspect that even that was just a veneer – but whether it was a veneer over further insanity wasn’t a question that had troubled her until recently, when the boy hadn’t taken a mission far from Ame in over two years.

A strangled shriek drew a few stares as a girl across the street was shoved to the ground, but for the most part the passerby ignored the scene. Standing less than a meter away, with his back facing the girl, Itachi never so much as twitched. He had been staring motionless at what appeared to be wrapped onigiri.

Konan frowned, as the larger children ran off with the pastries the girl had been carrying. Survival of the fittest. By Kukaku’s calculations, they would have enough money to fend off the attentions of one Great Nation by the end of the month. The question now was whether that would be sufficient to launch their campaign; how many jinchuriki could they capture before the Great Nations stopped targeting each other to focus on them? 

Her eyes were drawn back to the girl when the child abruptly straightened from where she was sprawled in the street. As a smaller boy scampered forth, the girl reached into her shirt to retrieve a flattened pastry.

If only the Great Nations could also be so easily distracted with their own hubris.

Movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention once more, and she watched as the Uchiha bought a full set of onigiri that would normally be enough to feed a small family of three. Stepping out from under the awning of the makeshift stand, the boy then looked straight at her.

So he knew she’d been following him.

Before she could react, the boy moved off to one of the wooden tables on the side. Seeing that he’d made his awareness of her presence clear, she crossed the street.

He moved once more before she finished crossing the street so that, by the time she reached him, he was tossing away the bamboo leaves used to wrap the onigiri. The rest of his meal lay on the table, unguarded – an alluring sight to starving street kids.

Luckily for the girl and her companion, the most dangerous of the street kids had already moved away with their spoils; the two were already sitting at the adjacent table, eyeing the box with less than surreptitious eyes.

Itachi greeted her with a nod and then turned to leave. As Konan stepped forward to follow him, she murmured, “They’ll take your purchase.”

Stepping to the side, out of the main walkway, Itachi turned to face her, “Yes, I expect so.”

Out of habit, Konan studied his face, which revealed none of his thoughts – as usual.

Sure enough, as soon as Konan had joined Itachi under the awning, the two kids rushed forth and pounced on the half-opened package with ravenous hands.

Perhaps it was this sort of behavior that made Konan uneasy around Itachi. Unlike the other members, who visibly reveled in their work or had readily apparent motivations, Itachi was… blank.

In some ways, however much she believed his membership would be more profitable for Akatsuki than Orochimaru’s, his apathy disturbed her more than Orochimaru’s nature to insistently needle. Whereas Orochimaru was almost guaranteed to poke a festering wound for the sake of an ‘investigation’, Itachi was about as likely to douse the wound in alcohol as he was to rub in anesthetic. She could see how Pain would categorize the boy under the same deranged, if brilliant, personality as Orochimaru, but she didn’t think Pain saw how Orochimaru’s actions were almost always guaranteed to be selfish – and thus, to some extent, predictable.

“Here,” Itachi held out a cloth package.

Accepting the package with one hand, Konan asked, “This is medicine?”

Itachi nodded and looked away, back where the children were still scarfing down the food, “Ayumu isn’t accepting monetary payments anymore.”

Untying the first box, she peered inside and confirmed Itachi’s words. By her estimates, she could funnel away an eight of the medicines to Ame’s hospital without raising Kakuzu’s suspicions. She’d never have thought the man could raise such a fuss about inventory protocols. Noticing a smaller package with a familiar seal, she looked back up, “Supplements? And what form of payment does he want?”

He looked back at her through lowered lashes, “They were complimentary.” Pausing, he looked away and scanned their surroundings before looking up at the sky, “And organs.”

Konan froze. Ayumu was a supplier referred to them by Orochimaru. She had been more than relieved that Orochimaru had long since defected when the first rumors of vivisection had reached her ears. Gathering chakra to her fingertips, she spun around.

The children were still eating happily.

There had been more than enough time for a sedative’s effects to be felt.

“However, I’ve heard Gatou’s business will be restructured soon, so I suspect that request will be reversed.”

Heart thudding in her chest, she turned to face him, but he was already striding away.

“Give our leader my regards.”

Narrowing her eyes at his retreating back, Konan breathed in a slow breath, before running through the whole encounter back in her head. It felt like she was missing something, and the odd thing was, she couldn’t help but wonder if it was connected to the supplement in her hand.

What did the Uchiha know about Pain – about Nagato? 

Uneasy, she gathered her chakra and let it spread until she was splintering apart, drifting into thousands upon thousands of paper sheets streaming towards the sky. One sheet drifted down, folding itself into the shape of a butterfly that landed softly on the auburn hair of a delighted girl.

It couldn’t hurt to keep an eye out on a pair of orphans for a few more hours. 

*

“I’ll help you hide the body,” Sasuke muttered. True to Kazuki’s prediction, the sun was already almost directly overhead and there was still no sign of a certain senile instructor.

Sakura let out a startled snort just as Naruto chimed in, “ME TOO!”

Plopping down to the grass, Sakura sighed, “I wonder if Ino’s already out of the village.”

Dropping down beside her, Naruto shrugged off his pack to stand between his legs. As he dug through his supplies he offered, “Kazuki said something about getting introduced to another team before heading out.”

Sasuke scoffed, “Introductions wouldn’t take six hours.”

With a soft thud, Kakashi dropped down before them, “Yo!”

As Naruto yelped and tripped over his pack, Sasuke frowned, “Unlike some people.”

Glaring through her bangs, Sakura grumbled half heartedly, “You’re late.”

With one eye squinted closed and a movement in his mask, Sasuke suspected that Kakashi was smiling.

“Sorry, my neighbor needed groceries – ”

Unamused, Sakura interrupted in the same flat voice, “Stores don’t open until eight.”

Kakashi cheerfully continued, “And she realized she didn’t have her umbrella – “

Undeterred, Sakura grmped, “It wasn’t raining.”

“To block out the sun –”

“It was cloudy.”

“And so I lent her some money.”

“For six – no, seven hours?”

Kakashi’s eye widened right before a stream of water gushed over where he’d been standing. Spitting out the last of the water, Naruto groaned, “Ah, I thought I had him.”

Standing on the branch above, Kakashi whined playfully, “Aah? I thought it was eight hours.” Scratching his head in response to the three sets of glares, he switched topics, “So who’s ready to meet our client?”

Without waiting for a reply, Kakashi dropped down, “She’ll be meeting us at the gates.”

Defeat forgotten, Naruto scrambled to grab his pack before racing in front of Kakashi, “Are we escorting a princess? Is she pretty? Who are we fighting? Sakura said she couldn’t be a princess.”

“Nope – an heiress. Maybe. I dunno. Last chance to check your packs.”

Before Naruto could do more than squint suspiciously at Kakashi’s reply, Sasuke shoved Naruto forward, “We’ve check each others’. Do you know the team accompanying Team Nine today?”

Kakashi tilted his head back as he walked, “Asuma’s team? They’ve already headed out. Saw them at the gates this morning.” He continued walking, as if he wasn’t under the attention of three annoyed teenagers.

Sasuke gritted his teeth together, “So you know the other team?”

Kakashi hummed, “Hmm? Yup.”

Naruto whined with impatience, “What do you know about them?”

Instead of answering, Kakashi perked forward, “Oh look, she’s already waiting!”

This time Sakura snapped, “Kakashi-sensei!”

He waved a hand, “They graduated the year before you; you wouldn’t know them. Now let’s go. Best not to keep her waiting.”

Sasuke resolved to soak Kakashi’s pack at the earliest opportunity. He doubted it would take very much or very long to convince his teammates to conspire with him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Troublesome Timing by FrznLights [Podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12527136) by [Rick_KTish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rick_KTish/pseuds/Rick_KTish)




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